Lost and found
by Deewrites
Summary: Story snippets of my night elves and the rest of the group.
1. Chapter 1

Catching thoughts in the rain

The weather in Val'Sharah was rainy that day, heavy rain that seeped down through the thick canopy of the trees surrounding Lorlathil. It gave the Field of Dreamers a whole different appearance. She loved it. Cian liked Val'Sharah, it still had a certain charm and ancient calm to it, like Mount Hyjal used to have. Or at least what was the feeling she got from the left over land that was Val'sharah after the Legion had destroyed so much.

Huddled up with her arms wrapped around her legs she sat on a sturdy overhanging branch from one of the large trees, half hidden under the protection of the ancient leaves as she watched and listened to the rain that fell in thick droplets around her.

Some caught her tunic, her arms, it soaked her hair. She did not mind, for some reason the sound of rain felt so peaceful . So she closed her eyes and listened. Other than the occasional critter she heard rustling through the branches that formed the rooftops of the trees, there was nothing other than a marvelous level of serenity out here.

Drip, drop! New drops splattered down. One finding its way to her forehead where it rolled down the curve of her closed eye, passing to the side of her nose until it vanished. Opening her eyes she smiled.

Cian held out a hand to try and catch a few of the raindrops for the fun of it. In moments a tiny pond of water was formed in the palm of her hand. She looked at the clear water with curiosity.

If she looked with her left eye at the puddle of water that had formed in her hand, then all she could see were the light and dark shapes of the water against the contrast of her skin and the leather glove covering half her hand. Her whole visual was a distorted reflection of shapes through the cracked lens of her eye. It was almost like looking through a broken scope. Contradicting her right eye, which served her a perfectly normal visual of her surroundings. By now she got used to the left eye losing its function.

Drip, drop, drip, drop! More raindrops fell into her hand.

She smiled when they merged with the layer she already had managed to gather, watching them raise the level of water in the curved palm of her hand. It worked a bit like a bowl she supposed, by clutching the fingers tightly together and curving the palm of her hand the water had a place to remain, until it either vaporised from the warmth of her skin or overflow in her hand to seek another path to escape.

Escape, that was perhaps the right description. She had done this often when she was a small child. Escape and hide out in the trees while it rained. It gave her a feeling of solitude. Rain was somehow fascinating to look at if you wanted to empty your head, she thought. Just like it was when staring at your own reflection in a pool water, right before throwing in a stone that would ripple out the image before it would smooth the surface back again. She had done that plenty of times over the past months. Throwing rocks in the water, hide in trees, sit and ponder her thoughts in the rain. Reviving the old habit.

Vald had sat with her many times in silence, soaked from the rain, and only speaking when she asked him something in those moments. She quietly thanked him for that patience, just lending his sturdy form to lean against as he left her to deal with her thoughts. Remaining close enough for her to know he was there if she needed him.

Cian had come to terms with herself on many things of late: The loss of her left eyesight, the choice of not wanting to pick up her bow anymore. Not now at least. The sudden reuniting with her family when Basalt had managed to track her all the way to Val'Sharah. Learning of the new war and the terrible losses after the burning of Teldrassil. It had given her much to ponder about.

Another drop joined the rising water level in the cove of her palm. She shook her hand suddenly; moving it in a quick gesture from left to right, watching the layer of water scatter out in multiple droplets again that launched themselves to all sides before they vanished from her now flat stretched out hand. Cian pursed her lips together for a moment, pushing the wet strands of silvery white hair back behind her ears so they would not stick in her face. By now her whole outfit felt damp from sitting there. She did not mind for the moment, though Cian would if the cold hit her skin. For now she would remain a while longer, contemplating her thoughts like she did the raindrops.

Some things still weighed heavy; such as her mother's sudden but honest revelation that had led to the introduction of her half-sister, Naravei. And the loss of her oldest boy. Those were things that still left her stomach in a heavy knot. Not ready to offer them a solid place of acceptance just yet. In due time she hoped she could.

Drip, drop. Four raindrops bounced off the flat surface of her hand. One clinging the tip of her finger before it let go, falling past the branch to disappear in the direction of the ground below her.

"Ciel?" The male voice calling out her name sounded close by. He first called her by her nickname. She smiled, closing her eyes once more as she listened to the repetitive name calling coming from the person who obviously sought her. "Cian?" The voice called again, this time it came from under the tree. She opened her eyes, finding Vald staring up at her.

"Are you deliberately ignoring me, again?"The question came with a scowl from the man standing on the ground looking up at her. She grinned visibly down at him, shaking her head. "I would not dare," she said. Vald did not look so tall from up here.

He shrugged, sighed and shook his head at her. "Well then," he said, easing his scowl back into a more suitable expression as he craned his neck back."If you are done catching thoughts with the rain, perhaps you'd like to speak to Basalt. Since he has just returned," he mentioned, motioning her to come down. Her eyes widened when he said that, so did her smile. She was down in no time, jumping from her spot to land on her feet with a certain ease that told him she had done this many times before. He waited for her before he turned himself in the direction of Lorlathil.

She caught his hand, hers felt cold against his. Her fingers a bit numb by now. He tugged gently at her hand, making her raise her eyebrows in question when she looked at him. "Did you catch many?" He asked her:"Thoughts in the rain, I mean?" He added. She nodded. He merely smiled at that. Then they headed back through the Field of Dreamers towards the village.


	2. Chapter 2

**To eye your possibilities.**

"Cian!" She perked her ears when a male voice called her name. She could not instantly see who it was, only define it came from somewhere to her left side. So she turned her head.

"**Catch**!" The same voice sounded. She dodged the apple that flew right past her face, it grazed the tip of her nose very lightly and then rolled to the grassy floor about a meter away from her. Rather startled Cian turned to peer at the one who thrown the apple her way.

She scowled when she saw who it was. Her expression instantly darkening when she noticed Vald. Cian was in no mood to deal with anything right now.

He merely grinned with a certain confidence, which usually meant he was up to no good or ready to give unwanted advice. Or so she got to know him and his twin brother. Vald and Clai could be downright annoying if they were in this kind of mood. The brothers equal in that aspect.

"You are still truly horrible at catching things! And carrying my scowl even? It does not suit you!" He seemed to be in a cheerful mood, totally pleased with himself when she saw him lean against the tree. A grin spreading wider across his mouth when he watching her throw him a very angry glare.

"**Stop throwing things at me**!" She warned him. He frowned, raising one long winged eyebrow up as he shook his head.

"Not until you finally catch something," he said, holding up two more apples. She scowled back at him as her own frown returned. She looked at him, snorting softly as she bend to the side to pick up the apple, whipped it on the sleeve of her tunic and held it in the palm of her hand. When she got back up she seemed to be hesitant for a moment, as if she was weighing down her options: Should she try and smack it against his head, or just eat the damned fruit?

"I'm not a pet you throw a stick at!" She stated, looking from the apple in her hand to him. The fruit was slightly bruised, but still looked eatable. He grinned.

Vald rested his hands by his sides, the two apples held in each of them, a crooked half grin giving away he had no intention of doing as she asked. "Why not? You need perspective to aim, do you not?" She glared at him, the corners of her mouth pulled down deeper when she watched him from where she stood.

"What of it? I laid my bow to rest, let it go," she muttered at him, looking at her feet. He sighed, juggling the two apples in his hands as he watched one take a loop in the air when he threw it up before catching it with his hand again.

"You mean those broken pieces of wood you keep in that box near your bed, hidden under your cloak? That is not putting your bow to rest, that is just collecting junk, " she heard him say. She sucked in her breath when he mentioned the broken bow she kept after they found her.

"You should get a new one, " he went on.

Clai said they found the bow several feet away from the rock that protruded her backside. The bow had been a gift, special. She did not want to part with it, but it was beyond repair. That she did not wish to use it had nothing to do with the fact she nearly broke her neck after being shot from the sky, she kept telling herself. She was still healing from that hefty ordeal. It left her bitter of late. She did not have any intention of picking up a bow any time soon. Not after everything. Not with an eye like hers, or with the tingling numbness she experienced when she tried to use her left hand. She lost a lot of strength in that hand. Whenever she used it the muscled would cramp up in a horrible painful manner. Which left her only half of its original capacity, which annoyed her greatly.

"Let it rest," Cian said:"I do not wish to talk about it," she said softly, looking away from him.

Vald seemed to study her before he stopped juggling the apples and pushed himself upright to walk over. He dropped the two apples in a soft leather bag he carried to his side. It was attached with a thin leather belt around his waist, strapped around his upped leg to steady it.

"What exactly does stop you from picking up on your old skills?" He asked, obviously not wanting to let the subject rest. She jerked her head up, looking at him in anger.

"**Look at me**!" She nearly shouted it, looking him straight in the eyes, as if he would not notice her while she stood there. "**How am I supposed to shoot a bow like this? I cannot even pull my own bowstring back without problems**!" She huffed, holding up her left hand in anger as if that explained everything. He just watched her, noting her expression changed from angry to a sudden sad one. Lips pressed in a thin line as she dropped her hand again. She felt miserable.

"I noticed you were bitter, but you did not strike me as somebody who had much self pity, Cian," he said, it sounded so harsh when he mentioned that. She felt her cheeks burn red, and not only in anger. "No self-pity, but yes, I am bitter, very much so!" She said defiant, trying to calm the urge to scream.

"It is not only that, is it?" Vald guessed as he kept looking at her. One hand cupped her chin with his fingers, turning her head from left to right as his other pushed away the strands of uneven wild curling hair that hung in front of her left eye. "Your scars are healing nicely," he said, explicitly checking the ones near her left eye-socket. In due time the scars would fade for the most part. Leaving thin lines on her skin that probably would only be noticeable from up close.

"What is the real problem, Ciel? Seeing you bitter makes you like one of those badly attuned goblin devices of late, one that will explode without a spark or a fuse," he described her as his expression no longer seemed smug or overbearingly confident. He let go of her chin as she looked at him with one silver eye. The other was a dark dull milky colour.

"Talk to me? Please?" He asked, he seemed worried, he did not say it, but she could hear it in his voice. She inhaled, leaning her head forwards, feeling she was pulled close by him as he wrapped his arms around her. "I worry," he said quietly. "I know," she answered, still sounding bitter, but less angered.

"Do you know how many people miss an eye and still fight?" He mentioned, resting his arms around her shoulders. "I know," he heard her repeat herself. "Tell me what the problem is then?" Vald wondered out loud. He could hear her sigh in frustration.

"I'm afraid..," she finally said, trying to sound as neutral as possible, but she could not keep a steady voice. Admitting it was bad enough in her experience.

But there it was! Finally out in the open.

"Brave," he said, nodding:"Hearing you finally admit it," he almost sounded proud as he stroked his hand absentmindedly through her wild white hair. The knot in her stomach untied itself as she finally sagged her shoulders, feeling the weight of saying it out loud lift.

It was not only her hand, or the loss of her eyesight, the scars, missing a target, the pain in her hand, losing the strength in most of her arm. It was everything together that happened. It had been building up and piled so high until she could no longer see where to go.

"We can work on that, you just need a bit of time to find yourself again," she heard Vald say. Cian inhaled, flaring her nostrils as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against his arm. "Will you please stop throwing things at me now?" She asked. There was silence for a moment before she heard him laugh out loud.

"And miss out on that scowl you have been wearing lately? No way!" He seemed rather amused. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Her hand came up, holding the apple in a threatening way. He laughed even harder as he saw what she intended to do with it.

"Still going to bat me with that apple? Or are you undecided?" Vald laughed, guessing her thoughts as he glanced down at her. Cian craned her neck back, to show him the corners of her mouth pulled up in a challenging grin. "I should smother you with this! Choke you on it perhaps," the threatening tone in her voice stretched to a soft laugh, the effort gone as it did not quite work as intended. He seemed to hold a delight in hearing the tone of her voice tip towards sarcasm on that threat.

"Death by apple. I 'd like to see you try that sometimes," he chuckled, still very much amused with the prospect of seeing her take on that challenge. "Tempting," she answered. "How about we eat those apples instead and call it even? Next time I will throw you a turnip. Or would you rather have me throw a leek?" He asked. She slapped him hard against his upper arm, he laughed as he rubbed the spot.

"Good thing you only have half strength." His grin was still there. She snorted. "Don't you dare! I will have you stand as my target with an apple on your head when I practice my bow skill again," she dared. He shook his head. "If you do that I want my scowl back, since it does not suit you very well," he said. She grunted in annoyance. Not this again!

"Come," he said cheerfully as he grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her on her heels, pushing her forwards to walk ahead of him:"We need to have a chat with Valoris, he too has an eye like yours. I think he could tell you a lot of how he dealt with it," he seemed cheerful at the idea.

"Maybe I should start calling you Cian Half- ear, or Cian Mooneye," he said as he wobbled her left ear in a teasing manner.

"You just watch your head," she muttered, though her mood was better than before.


	3. Chapter 3

**Beyond her.**

If there was ever a moment when the world looked at its ugliest, now was that time.

Cian was sitting on her knees, the boy wrapped tightly in her arms as she gently rested his form against hers. His face hidden between the curve of her shoulder and the arm that gently curved around his small body. Cian's white messy hair sprawled around them, like a protective barrier hiding them. Almost as if that would protect the both of them and could save them from any harm. Her head dipped to lean against the child's face. A cheek placed against his.

The boys raspy breath had stopped awhile ago, his skin now cold against hers.

When she looked at Thiandis he seemed so peaceful. Almost as if he was asleep.

Yet her mouth felt dry when she stared at her child, the sheer pain of knowing he was not going to wake up anymore. The knowledge hit hard. It embedded a pain in her chest that felt like a large rock about to crush her in an avalanche of emotions.

Cian closed her eyes again, pressing her eyelids firmly shut. The feeling of tears pricking to the corners of her eyes. Then wet streaks tickled down her cheeks, rolling past the curve of her jaw to disappear into clothes, or simply dissolve.

"I'm not ready to let you go. not yet," the muffled whisper close to his ear turned into an inaudible tone, vanishing on her attempts to keep herself together.

Thiandis always was a gentle soul, very different from her other two children. He had an easy going nature, soft spoken but cheerful in his ways. A quiet boy, somebody you easily overlooked perhaps. It was a question she asked herself many times; out of guilt, out of her motherly perspective. She could not tell. But she felt her heart crack a bit more each time she thought about it. Would it have been any different if she has been there?

There was no response on either question.

She knew one thing for sure; If it not been for Allium, Cian would not have seen her son in his final moments. For that she would be forever grateful to her daughters actions. Thiandis had not struggled. He was already too far gone when they managed to get him to Val'Sharah. There had been no fear or panic when he passed away; the boy simply closed his eyes and faded away into the final moments as his raspy breath slowly eased before it became silent.

Cian was grateful she was able to hold him wrapped into her tight embrace at that final stage. His slim form now relaxed, arms hung limp past his small body. His skin a sickly greyish purple. Rigor mortis had not yet claimed him but she knew it would happen soon.

A wave of angry sorrow hit her again when she opened her eyes. They were painfully swollen from the many hours of crying she had done. Cursing the unfairness of a young life lost. The low stuttered gasp for air heaved her shoulders up and down in a shakily painful movement when she inhaled deeply. Cian let the air escape through flared nostrils as she felt her shoulders shock back down again, unable to keep the emotions under control. The ache in her chest heavy when she softly eased her grip on the child.

One hand moved to gently stroke the boys purple hair; like hers, wild and stubborn.

Gentle hands touched Cian's shoulders, making sure she knew somebody was there. She stirred, turning her head. Cian thought she recognised her mother's voice. Somebody lifted the boy from her grip, leaving her to watch up with hollow panicked eyes. She stretched out her arms to reach for Thiandis, wanting to yell they could not take him. Not yet!

No sound came from her mouth.

The same arms came around her, pressing her against a warm body the same way she had held her son. Arms tightly wrapped around her when she finally caved in and cried out loud for everything that was now beyond her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Steps.**

The night was dark, damp even, giving a slippery substance to the ground. The moon hidden behind the clouds with only the stars giving ample light to the dark forest. Cian felt nervous. She could not exactly tell why, but she did when she moved further into the thicket of the woods. Carefully placing her feet down the unknown area of the forest she dwelled into.

In the beginning it felt uncomfortable, unsure how exactly she had to move in silence again.

A swirl of mist covered the ground among the trees, almost eerie as the white swirling puffs of thin clouds snaked themselves around the many wooden bodies that made up the woods. As she moved further amongst it she had to crouch, climb or push away leaves and branches to crawl through. Twisting left and right to avoid hitting her head against the low hanging branch that suddenly appeared. Or jump over the root that covered the ground before her.

Gradually her footsteps treaded easier, softly, almost in utter silence as she made her way deeper through the rough terrain. At least her right eye provided enough detail to figure out when to step high and when the crouch low.

The bow she borrowed from Iunan felt foreign in her hand. A quiver of arrows slung over her side, attached with a belt crossing over her chest where it split into a few smaller belts coming from the eye of an iron ring attached so they could be fixed around her. Secured to the side of her belt. One thicker leather belt held the harness at her back between her shoulder blades in place to attach the bow in. The whole construction making sure the quiver remained within reach without swinging it in every direction when she moved.

She tightened the grip on the bow handle with her right hand, her knuckles turning white under the half glove covering her hand. Feeling the tight leather that was spun around the handle of the bow. Its ornate carvings displaying a beautiful decoration along the polished wood of the curved weapon. It was a heavy bow, a tad too large for her, its points curved gracefully out in half circles at the edges. The bowstring attached with iron decorated rings clamped near the end. She stopped in her tracks when she caught a whiff of a male feline, the scent lingering in the air for only a moment.

Movement to her right. Her inhale deep and low, to not give away her nerves. She was not alone.

Silence, she used the moment to try and pick up on any faint noises.

Her white hair swung from left to right when she tried to take in her surroundings better, in hopes of locating the exact position of the one that had been following her from the moment she had entered the forest.

By now she was no longer close to the edge of the woods, nor near the borders that covered the surroundings around Lorlathil. She was in the middle of it somewhere, without a good indication of exactly where. Nowhere near an open area. Her hunter instincts caused confusion when she caught the scent of another male feline. It made her frown as she gritted her teeth. One had to be Vald. The other her target.

If there were more than two it could proof a complicated escapade!

A far away feline growl was heard, echoing into the night.

Vald!

Cian eased a little bit after hearing it, gaining more control over her nerves. She could recognised that sound anywhere when he was in his feline form. Healer or not, Vald still stubbornly held on to that part of his druid ways. Holding on to his totems that made him one with the creatures of the forest and bonded a stronger affliction to his feral abilities. A thing he rarely did, give into his forms.

It was part of why he wore his usually scowl and always seemed more or less agitated half the time. Though lately she seemed to wear his scowl more than he did himself. He had mentioned it briefly during a chat with her once, the scowl and why people avoided him in general. But he did not further explain it to her and chose to abandon the subject. Which she respected.

He would tell her why when the time was there. For now, she was more than grateful he was her silent company during her impulsive agreement to this nightly run. He was her back-up in case things went horribly wrong.

More silence.

Nothing moved in the forest. Her heart slowed for a mere moment, before it sped up again.

Unlike Vald, Cian was like one of those brooding storms, lingering between the mountain tops until it erupted into a massive thunderstorm after it had nowhere else to go. Ruling on impulse. It was a bit the same with this nightly hunt, decided on impulse. Accepting this hunting challenge was not the best idea to have she realised.

Too late for regret now.

Also ruled by impulse, simply because he finally managed to push her so far in the corner that she had no more excuse to not agree.

Well, if things would go wrong then she was screwed either way and probably dead by the time he managed to let his feral side linger to the back and come to her aid. She would not even have the chance to scold him for it.

Still, when she accepted his challenge it was a risk she was willing to take, trusting him fully when he mentioned he would be there with her. She did not know why, but he told her he felt humbled she trusted him. He even ditched his usual scowl for a smirk when she reluctantly accepted the challenge he offered her. And Vald had provided her with many of late. Pushing her boundaries.

More silence.

The faint wind swirled the mist closer towards her feet, making her boots vanish in the thin white fog that floated above the forest ground. Cian flared her nostrils for a moment, catching the scent of the stalker as the wind turned. It was not Vald's scent she caught. The feline was close by.

This one was no druid, this was a feline prowler native to the forest. Probably one with vicious claws that could shred her to pieces. Was that not exactly what she had been taking this challenge for? The adventure? To feel like her old self again?

The slight wind blew the scent in a different direction, losing the smell she had picked up on. She cursed under her breath. Damned! Now she did not know where the cat was hiding.

A sudden rolling growl emerged from somewhere behind her. She stiffened, the growl was a warning that she was getting too close. Cian straightened her stance when she heard a repetitive of the natural low sound of the nightly predator lurking around her. Her feelings were all over the place, one fighting the other.

Her fear was chased into the corner by the adrenaline that rushed through her veins, while her heart pounded in her chest. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, trying to calm her nerves, nearing to panic.

Bad choice! Not now!

She realized it when the low growl sounded again, snapping her eyes open. This time her hunter senses kicked into perspective. Pinpointing where the sound had come from. Cian slowly turned to her left as she finallyknew the stalkers position was somewhere between the low bushes she now faced.

Cian swallowed in silence, trying to overrule the tight knot in her stomach that fought against the spirited rush of excitement going through her internal system. She slowly pulled her bowstring back with her left hand. She had no intention of harming the animal, only when needed. The bow was taken for precaution in case she had to defend herself when it decided to attack and things would turn bad.

The fingers on her left hand protested under the skin-tight supple leather glove that half covered most of the back of her hand. It left her fingers free. The skin searing around the scars that now marred her hand with deep cuts. Even healed they were still painful. The muscles of her wrists and arm twitched in annoyance when she extended the pressure on her left side and tried to push through the pain by pulling the bow string further back. With the arrow nocked on the bow, she ignored the cramp in her hand.

What was she here for again? She let the question linger in her head again. Yes, initially she was here to rekindle with her visions of her former hunter self. To see how well developed her skills still were after everything.

Yes! That was exactly what she was here for. To figure out what she was about!

And the predator growling at her from behind the leaves of its hiding place was going to proof once and for all if she was still capable of being who she once had been.

She stood still for a moment, becoming one with the unmoving shadows of the tree trunks. Listening.

Silence...

Cian adjusting the weight on her leg as she leaned into her foot. Planting her feet firmly in the moist soil that surrounded her leather boots. The moon suddenly broke through the clouds above her, the bushes rustled, a flash of bright yellow eyes flickered as they caught a glimpse of moonlight when the orbs fixed on her.

She did not blink. Her heart beating a firm rhythm in her throat by now. Sweat tickling from the back of her neck down her spine when she lowered the bow to a new angle; one that would not hit the target instantly but could still cause a distraction. The arrow head gave off a faint icy blue glow when she activated the spell that coated the tip. The blue light bounced off on the wood surrounding her.

It also gave away her location.

Her instincts screaming in the back of her head to run away, this would go wrong! Her body froze when the bushed rustled more fiercely and the predator jumped forwards.

Its growl menacing while it jumped at her with its claws out, ready to clutch the prey in fron of him into a deadly grip. Cian's reflexes moved with a grace she forgot she had for a split second. It fell in canon with her rapid heartbeat - thump, thump, thump- ... then the finesse of it all was gone and she tumbled back in her current stare, the one where her hand cramped furiously when she released the arrow in its flight.

The movement of the feline was quick. Cian was not fast enough. The arrow plunged itself a mere feet away from her when she felt one clawed paw hook itself into her leather boot and the angry hiss of the cat as it moved its weight forward to lunge at her. It all came at once.

She stumbled back, as in slow motion her left hand went behind her, wanting to break the fall. She panicked, letting her fear take over when she landed painfully on her wrist when colliding with the forest floor with an impact she did not expect.

The spell on the arrow tip activating itself and a sudden field of ice surrounded them both. Freezing the angry hissing feline in the middle. Her too. Her leather clad behind frozen to the wet forest ground underneath her.

Angry yellow eyes staring back at her from besides a flat nose in a triangular shaped face. Its ears lay flat to the back of his head.

This was not like Vald's feline form at all. These were the natural yellow feline eyes of a cat that protected its territory. They were hauntingly beautiful when she stared at the glowing pupils..

The ice surrounding them crackled, causing her to feel the numbness in the hand that she tried to use to break her fall with. The fingers no longer responsive. The right one still clutched tightly around her bow.

Panic took another swing at her when she calculated her situation. Wondering how long the ice spell would exactly hold before it evaporated and the feline would be free again. Would she be dead? Was this going to be a disaster for her kids? Could she slam Iunan's heavy bow into the attack to protect herself fast enough?

When ever did her former hunter job become a nuisance? It never had been before. She always came home to her family, never really taking the danger serious. And she was not even one of the elites, all she had been was a Hippogryph rider, a scout and an outrunner with her hunter skills.

Seconds crawled by in eerie silence between her and the feline leaning its weight on top of her.

The cat broke the silence with a sneering angry hiss at her as his face was very close to hers now. She could almost toucg his nose. He leaned his weight more into her, but their frozen situation stopped him from fully able to leap at his prey, her. Unable to rip her throat out.

Her skin crawled when she felt the hiss hit her in the face, the puff of hot air breathing over her cheeks, tickling her nose. Fangs bared at her in anger as the cat snarled.

Cian suddenly felt like laughing and crying at the same time about it all. Regret seeping into the urge to scream at the same time. Trying to overrule her senses and remain calm. There was nothing calm about this, and it surely did not turn into what she hoped.

"**Tame it**!" Vald's voice broke her thoughts, sounded close by. She snapped out of her panic, eyes wide when the ice vanished and she felt her fingers tingle painfully under her. Suddenly there were roots sprouted around her and the feline, hooking them firmly in place. Just in time!

She gasped for air, relief hitting the knot in her belly as it unclenched the panic it held swirling in its grip a little bit. The cat snarled louder, focused on the druid that sat kneeled down on one knee while his hand laid with the palm flat down on the damp soil. Fingers spread out widely while the green magic churned through the ground. She could feel the flickers of green inflicted around her, the whooshing aura of the spell splitting the ground around her in a network of fine lined cracks where more roots sprouted. Tangled around the felines body, paws and its neck.

"**TAME IT CIAN! NOW**!" He yelled at her. His teeth flashed, concentration visible as he held the spell.

She did not hesitate anymore. Dropped the bow to the ground and touched the feline face with her right hand, starting the incantation of the spell learned long ago during her hunter training. It would bind the creature to her. The hunter bond was like invisible roots, like Vald's spell.

The cat hissed in anger once more. The roots tightened around them, a net of criss-crossed weaved vines restraining the feline. Her hand gently rested between the flat laid ears of the magnificent creature that was about to eat her alive if she did not finish this taming.

Her silent words forced the yellow eyes of the creature to look at her. Mesmerized by the colour she continued, repeating the incantation of the bonding between them. Her fingers stroked through the short soft fur of the creature close to her. All the while she repeated the bonding spell. The growling stopped, a ripple of irritation rushed over both Cian and the felines skin, as if it they were prickled by ants.

The bond was made.

Then silence. They stared at each other for a long time. The yellow eyes locked with hers. A sudden flash of recognition rushing through the animals eyes. A new swirl of amber dazzling in its dark pupils when the flecks settled in the yellow surface surrounded its irises.

"You actually did it!" Vald sounded as surprised as she felt. She did not look at him, waiting instead. The cat relaxed. When it no longer had the urge to hiss at her she felt the tight roots loosen around them, slowly freeing the feline from its firm grip.

A low purr came, a lick against the skin on her fingers when she lowered her hand from its head. She smiled at the feline. "Hello beautiful," she murmured at the cat. A slow breath of relief escaped her lungs when she finally gave in to all the overwhelming adrenaline rushing through her. She was so out of tune with her inner hunter. But he was right, she did manage it!

The weight of the feline suddenly disappeared when it gracefully stepped to her side. She tried to stand, her legs gave way under her and Vald's arms caught her just in time before she could renew her acquaintance with the forest ground again.

He spun her around, facing him. His grin almost from ear to ear. "I'm so proud of you!" he finally said, nearly shaking her in excitement. Cian smiled back, her forehead resting against his shoulder when she finally found her ground a bit.

"I was scared shit," she admitted quietly. He laughed out loud. A rich laughter that rumbled from his midriff into an amusing sound that rolled from his mouth. "You tip the scales in such bad ways for me, I nearly thought I was going to die. Leaving my kids without a mother," Cian complained. His laughter stopped when he spoke.

"But you did not!" he countered her, glancing sideways to the feline that stood at hip height to Cian, its tail swishing softly.

"No, but you sure bring out the worst in my nerves," she admitted. He snickered in amusement, placing an arm around her waist to support her. "Small steps, Ciel, and you will manage all," he told her. She nodded, leaning into him because she was not sure she would manage with the adrenaline still making her legs feel like rope.

There would be many steps to take and lots of convincing to get her to do it all. But for the first time she felt confident enough to let the worry fade to the back of her head when they slowly made their way through the nightly forest.


	5. Chapter 5

**To compromise**

Out in the woods of Val'Sharah there were a few roads leading from Lorlathil into different directions, depending on which way you were going. Some seemed paved, but they mostly resembled hardened because of the frequent use. The gathering of people and the activity in and around Lorlathil made sure of that.

Naravei was one of those people temporary active in Lorlathil. She would soon return to the main land and leave behind the Broken Isles to venture back to her next occupation, which was unsure after her duties with the remaining Outrunners would be done.

But today she seemed to be a woman on a mission. Determined to find Cian and talk to her about the wedge between mother and daughter.

So far she had been wandering around another circle in hopes to find Cian, who loved hiding away of late.

She did not spot her in the Field of Dreamers, not near the waterfall or close to the river that ran through the village. Nowhere close to the graveyard, or at the small platform near the bridge that usually was occupied by some of the curious and rather persistent overpopulated bold squirrels that seemed to do well around the village.

She muttered something under her breath. today this problem between Cian and Sivh had to end. This could not go on forever. Naravei had a long hard thought about how to approach this problem. Seeing both of them in a state of dismay worried her. Mostly because their mother never was in such a state, and Cian had already too much to deal with to also juggle this alongside it. Naravei was convinced Cian needed her family, now more than ever. Though both mother and younger daughter were being stubborn. And she was going to knock some sense in both parties to solve this, before the damage became the size of a small vortex and both mother and daughter would not resolve it out of spite for each other. She could not let that happen!

Where the heck was Vald when you needed him? He would surely know where to find Cian.

Pondering for a moment where her younger sibling could possibly hide, she realised something; The child was buried somewhere else!

The grave was a little outside of Lorlathil. deeper into the bordering forest. Close enough so you could still see the edge of the rooftops of some of the buildings, but far enough away to feel secluded and left alone.

Which left her to turn around, wandering back over the bridge she just passed earlier and take the road that made a light curve to the right as it disappeared into the sturdy wooden tree bodies that made up the ancient forest surrounding Lorlathil.

After a short walk she finally found the unmistakable disarray of white hair spilling around the contours of a figure sitting with crossed legs while she leaned against an oval shaped stone embedded with elfin runes.

She quietly trotted further until she was close enough to stand near her half sister.

"I thought I find you here," she said, not telling her she had been searching for quite awhile. A warning hiss came close to Naravei 's right through one of the bushes surrounding the lower parts of the forest. "Leave it Dusk, she is not our enemy!" Cian called out. The low rumbling growl of the big dark feline that gracefully came walking out of the shrubbery was a counterword to Cian's warning at him. The large feline observed Naravei for a moment, it's gorgeous eyes lingering on the kaldorei while he sniffed the air around her. Then decided she was of no interest to him as he strolled towards Cian, graced himself down and rested his large head on the side of one of her knees.

"He will not attack?" Naravei asked, to be certain when she eyed the feline. Cian shook her head. "You're good," she said, she did not smile though. Naravei walked around Cian, avoiding the spot the cat had claimed. Then ungracefully flopped herself next to Cian on the left. They both leaned side by side against the stone used to mark Thiandis' grave.

"How are you holding?" she asked, studying Cian sideways, finding Cian still did not quite seem her usual self. Grief was a nasty thing to deal with. She could see it in the reluctant stance of Cian's uptight shoulders. The silence and the way she kept her glance often averted, not wishing to catch anybodies pity or questioning looks.

"It will be fine," Naravei finally said, smiling as she took Cian's hand in hers, squeezing it. A look of surprise on Cian face locked with hers. There was a silence between them, then they both chuckled. "You do know you sound like mother?" Cian asked her. The expression on her face less tight then before. Naravei nodded, realising that all too well. "I feared as much," she said, admitting to the often made comparison that she looked like an exact younger copy of Sivh.

"How is mother doing?" Cian eventually asked. The past few weeks she had avoided all of her mother's attempt to reconcile with her.

"She is a bit of a mess right now. I never seen her like this to be honest. I did not consider it was possible, but I actually think you broke her," Naravei mentioned, a small smile curving her lips. This was a little bit amusing because their mother would never admit to failure easily.

Sivh, their mother, was usually an appealing vision with graceful movements and a hint of authority in the way she addressed others. Left over hints of her Highborn heritage or the Sentinel she used to be before she forfeited her occupation to learn more about druidism. That did not help her deal with Cian at the moment. Since they both shared a stubbornness that even Naravei did not could counter.

Ever since Sivh found both their daughters had actually met and were aware of each other's existence she had sort of stumbled away of the steady mother figure she always tried to be to all of her children.

Cian had been furious at her mother for 'forgetting' to mention she had an actual older half sister. A secret her mother had kept and postponed sharing for so long, that it now was thrown back in her face came in the shape of a very furious younger daughter who held no sympathy for her mother's arguments at this moment. Especially not since Naravei apparently had known of Cian existence all along.

After that Sivh had slowly tumbled into a state of dismay. Cian just ignored her mother at all cost.

Even when they found Cian the night Thiandis finally passed away, she pushed Sivh away. She wanted nothing to do with her mother, not then at least. Naravei eventually sought out Vald, he took Cian away before it became an even bigger mess between mother and daughter. While Sivh tended to her grandson for the last time in quiet sorrow, Vald made sure Cian calmed down.

Every new attempt from their mother's side to make her youngest daughter talk was avoided by Cian. The last thing she yelled was that she had nothing to discuss with her mother anymore. Naravei felt a little sorry for their mother, since it left Sivh in an unappealing state of worry. Gone was the solid demure their mother usually sported. Now Naravei felt it was up to Cian to mend the gap between them.

"Do you not think this has been going on long enough between you and mother? Is it not time to let go of some of the anger between you?" Naravei observed her sisters hand for a moment, distracting herself from looking at Cian's questioning gaze. Her younger siblings hand did not wear the half gloves she usually did. Naravei could still see the pattern of fine scars marring the skin on Cian's left hand. They would probably never fade entirely. She squeezed her hand gently again with her own to show her support. They did not speak for quite some time, just sat there together in silence.

"I honestly do not know where to start anymore," Cian admitted. She had admitted to a lot lately. Not things she liked, but more to things she knew needed to be done. Naravei moved her head in agreement, she could understand things were awkward right now.

"How about you two do something fun together? Invite mother to show you finally wish to talk?" Naravei suddenly said, sounding a little exited. Cian frowned at her sister. "Take her on a nightly hunt, you know mom is a good shot with a bow. Or take her on a hike around the forest? Take her fishing? Or," she stopped mid sentence and grinned:"You could let Vald have a go talk with her. We both know they will end up being annoyed at each other because he has a personality that clashes with hers and he speaks his mind without remorse! That will distract her!" The glint of amusement in Naravei's eyes made even Cian snicker; picturing their mother trying to have a civilized chat with a scowling Vald.

The druid was at least a head taller than Sivh. The fact she would have to crane her neck up to even look the tall man in the eyes -because none of them would budge an inch when trying to remain civilized but still give each other hints of their dislike for one another- would probably infuriate enough to bypass Sivh's strict etiquette of keeping her cool. Their mother liked to be in charge, and right now Cian was not having it.

"How about I ask her for a spitting contest?" Cian said dryly. If they were going to be challenging, she might as well draw out this option as well. Naravei stared at Cian, hearing her sisters strange idea made her smile though. Naravei let go of Cian's hand, then they both laughed.

It was good to hear her laugh again.

"I could easily win," Cian added in that same dry tone. Naravei's horrid expression fascinated her when she looked back at her older sister, meeting Nara's stunned amazement when she was serious.

"That is disturbing in so many levels! What are you, a Stormwind Dockworker?" She asked, the distaste of the whole idea thick in the way she shuddered as she spoke. "Who has taught you that? Who even _**does**_that?" Naravei was afraid to hear the answer when Cian shifted her stance a bit, her mouth displaying a smile when she turned more into Naravei's direction. Dusk purred and simply adjusted his large head higher up Cian's leg before he continued his leisure pose of pretend sleep.

"Ghypsum and Keel do. They excel in spitting at a target really," Cian said, as if it was a very normal thing. It probably was, if you were a Stormwind Dockworker perhaps, Naravei guessed. "There is something seriously wrong with both those Worgens," she said in a contorted tone. Cian snorted.

"Take my advice, never ask those two to compete, because no Stormwind Dockworker would stand a chance in winning a spitting contest against them," she revealed to Naravei. Her sister looked utterly horrified of the prospect.

"I don't think mom will find that a very appealing offer," she said with a truly disgusted look. Cian agreed with a nod of her head. "Maybe just leave the wild ideas out? Ask mom for a game of cards? She would like that. Just keep it casual, tell her how you feel and why you are so angry?" Naravei made it sound as if it was easy.

"You're probably right. Though it would be challenging for sure to see mother in a spitting contest," Cian said, she could not help but smile. She rested her hand on Dusks large feline face while her thumb scratched him behind his ears. The large cat purred loudly.

"But you cannot avoid her forever," Naravei added, as much fun as mocking their mother was right about now for being a stuck up at times. In the end she was the way she was. They would never purposely do their mother injustice, not intentionally at least. So Naravei came back to the initial problem. In that Cian could not argue. She could not avoid Sivh forever, she would not, but she could still feel slight resentment.

"I still think she could have told me about you," Cian said softly.

"Yes, but we do not know her exact reasons, since you rather exploded in anger and refuse to talk to her," Naravei helped remind Cian.

"How about I offer to take your children and keep them busy while you and mother solve your issues?" Cian looked from Dusk to Naravei . "I would like that," Cian said. "They will enjoy spending time with you! They have been asking about you a lot. Now you can answer all their questions for yourself," Cian's tone sounded cheerful for a moment.

"So, will we release mom from her state of dismay?" Naravei asked. Cian shrugged, straightening her back suddenly like her mother would do. Setting the exact tone to how Sivh would assess the situation and said in an exaggerated authoritarian sounding tone:"_Maybe we should leave her for a bit, seeing her in complete chaos will perhaps teach her a thing of two before she will consider to respond this way again_!" Cian's imitation of their mothers more stern side was met with laughter from Naravei.

"Don't let her catch you doing that," she grinned. Cian gave her one of Vald's scowls. "I would, if it made her aware she could have addressed this secret better," she said.

"But yes, I will release her from her current state of dismay," Cian promised. That at least eased Naravei a little. "When you clear the air between the both of you, ask her to tell you about how your father and she met, she loved telling that story. Or have her tell you about grandmother," Naravei hinted. Cian remained silent but nodded eventually. "I would love to hear more about my father. Mother never denied telling me when I asked. I know he was a thero'shan of Valoris," Cian said. That was new to Naravei.

"Apparently he taught both mother and my father, but not at the same time, since female druids were not exactly common back then," she mentioned. Else Sivh would have switched her Sentinel career for that of a druid a long time ago. Naravei nodded.

"What is the plan?"Naravei asked, curiously when she looked at Cian- who sagged her shoulders and flipped her hair back. "I will ask mom if she wishes to talk, and I will see where it goes," her voice held a hint of dread. Knowing their mother she probably felt the same way. She finally rose to her feet, waking Dusk in the process as he really had dosed off to a nap. The feline rolled over and came up on all fours, standing next to Cian.

"I have a slightly bad feeling about this," she said in a quant sounding voice. Naravei stood next to her, resting a hand on her arm. "People always say you resemble Arveim so much, which you do. But you resemble mother just as much," Naravei looked her sister over:"You are just a white haired version of her, but an equally stubborn one at that," she said, her smile genuine. Cian rolled her shoulders to get the stiffness out of them, then hooked her arm through Naravei's and rested her other hand between Dusks his ears. "Let's do this," she said, with the same determination Naravei had approached her with earlier.

As sisters they would probably find out they shared a lot of traits, and there would likely be a lot to find out about each other's differences and lives. She was not worried about that fact, it was a journey on its own. Maybe she could not ask her father in person anymore, but she would very much like her mother to be present. They would hopefully work it out. Though for that, Cian too needed to take steps to compromise.


	6. Chapter 6

**The love fool.**

When Cian walked out earlier that evening she could not help but feel she was being watched as she left the comfort of her home. Today marked the human tradition of celebrating the feast of love on the calendar. A festivity she did not like at the moment. It mostly made her irritated seeing all the cosy encounters under the half sickle of the moon that hung in a dark turning sky above her head as she wandered past several coupled gatherings that seemed too busy to notice her when she passed them in the direction of the forest.

Dusk was nowhere in sight. She guessed he was out hunting. She could faintly feel him move around in the forest close by. Then again Dusk was never really far off. He always kept a watchful eye out for her. But that was not what it felt like. This felt like somebody spying on her, well hidden in a cloaked environment she could not instantly see.

A pair of gleaming eyes followed her movement, she could feel as much. Yet Cian could not exactly pinpoint from which direction the feeling came.

That somebody was there was confirmed by the faint sound of rustling fabric. Then somebody moved around her in a radius she could not quite determined its proximity off. That she was not alone was clear. Another rustle of fabric gave her an impression of where when she slowed her walking.

She now had a vague idea of the location of the person prowling around her. For some reason her hunter senses did not pick up on the person until he was close, probably because they were still a bit off when she tried to rely fully on them.

The sudden touch of her hair and the light brush over the severely cut ear on her left side nearly made her jump. The sudden flower propped behind that same ear made certain it was not a misguided trick played by her mind. She abruptly stood still, the one circling her did the same. She touched the flower behind her ear, taking it out of her hair.

It was a beautiful blossom, just budding and still closed in the centre of its petals. The half rounded shapes of the leaves a pearly white that bled out into a darker pink hue at the edges. The stem of the flower was cleared from its thorns. A gesture she could have appreciated in other times.

There was a faint chuckle to her right, just behind her. She turned in a quick whirl, her hand grabbed in midst of...nothing. There was the sudden sound of challenging laughter when she missed grabbing the person in her attempt.

"Duval!" Cian muttered under her breath when she recognised his voice.

"Cian," he returned the gestue, showing his face and with that his smile for a split second. His appearance a shimmer of fast movements as he bowed in a mocking gesture in front of her. The gleaming tease in his eyes fixed on her when he vanished again, snatching the flower away as easily as he propped it behind her ear a moment ago. Then he moved away quickly, taking refugee among the low bushes close to her. Rustling the leaves in a teasing gesture, only to see her turn his way. Smirking he was ready to stalk her in a circle again when he gracefully danced into his next move.

A wry smile played her lips when she tried to assess the situation and find his position. He was silent when she turned around slowly, letting her hearing take over when she closed her eyes. She might not be able to see him, but she could hear he was pretty pleased with himself and his little game from the multitude of chuckles he spilled around to give her a misguided idea in trying to catch his position.

She snapped her eyes open suddenly, waiting. All she needed was the faintest of sounds to give himself away.

Which he did, he moved right in front of her now, crouching as his foot bumped ever so softly against the side of the leather boot she wore. It was enough to pinpoint his location.

She suddenly lunged, grabbing in mid air and held on to the tail she managed to catch. He yelped when she yanked hard, dragging him out of his stealth.

"There you are! You sneaky bastard," she said, there was little amusement in her voice.

"You're becoming faster, very good!" He said dryly, turning his head to watch her from his weird angle. The pink hue of his gleaming eyes seemed amused. She gave him a mocking half smile. He merely grinned back at her. His lanky frame bend in an uncomfortable position when she finally released her grip from his hair and he was free again.

"You rogues are a sneaky bunch," she told him, craning her neck back to look up at him while she watched him roll his shoulders."So are hunters with their stealthy ways, blending into the forest," he passed that right back at her.

She crossed her arms in front of her chest, tilting her head to the side.

"Stop annoying me, Duvall," she warned him when he glared down at her with a mischief grin that forebode little good. "Somebody is in a foul mood. Tell me Cian, have you laughed at all lately? Or are you still stealing Vald's scowl for every little bit of unease you encounter and have not catalogued in that brain of yours yet?" He seemed pleased with himself when she sucked in her breath.

"Stop irritating me," she bit back. He raised his delicate long white eyebrows at her as he looked her over. "Maybe I will, and maybe I won't," he said, making it sound mysterious.

"Watch it Duvall, or I swear I will grab something else next time you annoy me! It will not be pleasant!" She said with a fierce edge to the promise in her irritated reply. Her back was straight as she leaned her weight on the right side of her leg to make her stance clear. "Care to enlighten me on the details of that promise?" He smirked wickedly when she growled out loud in frustration. An annoyed scream coming from her that seemed to roll through the nightly forest, scaring off some small critters up to the top of the canopy of trees above them.

He rather enjoyed teasing her.

"Oh come on Ciel! You have to believe I will not go down easily! Oh woman of the wild hunt," he mocked her gently as he stood there, taking her in fully with merit ringing his voice. She believed him on his word, but did not confirm that just to kick against his pride a bit. Perhaps to show her defiling annoyance at him some more. Instead she took sudden action.

Uncurling her arms in front of her she wacked him upside the head with the flat palm of her hand when he least expected it. It left him to gasp and rub the spot at the back of his head. He did not look so pleased now.

"Ouch!" he complained in a dramatically, giving her another glare, this time an angry one. "I was only jesting," he said.

"Not funny, Duvall! Really, not!"She told him. The night became darker, smoothing out his movements to her. Making it harder to spot him. But she had at least one good eye that worked in her favour when she tried to figure out what it was he was after. He snorted, holding out the flower for her which he offered again with a mocking bow towards her.

"I'm _really _not in the mood for this," she warned him again, unamused. Perhaps she should have just returned home. Knowing Duvall he would only come knocking at her door to agonize her some more with his less then subtle way of interacting. He merely grinned. Darting playfully to her side as he picked up a silver strand of uneven hair and pulled gently at it. She pouted at him. "Pulling my hair? Really?" She asked. He nodded. "Only gently, Cian, nothing else," he mentioned.

She plucked the flower from his fingers and threw it to the ground when he did not show any signs of retaliation from his side.

"Oh Cian, now you are breaking my heart! Do you not wish to be showered in flowers?" He asked, rather surprised. She shook her head. "And here Marli told me you would smile at me if I offered you a token of my appreciation," he seemed genuinely appalled for a moment. Confused even.

"I _**do not want**_ anybody's pity or mocking gestures, especially not on this day!" She said again. Emphasizing the 'do not want' part as she gave him an angry look. Duvall frowned for a moment. "You truly are not amused, are you?" He asked astounded. She shook her head at him again. There was a certain moment where she admitted to herself that it was what it was. And that she did not know what to make of things herself.

"Let me get this straight, if not me, but if say... Vald would do this? You would still not be amused?" He asked, curiously. Testing a theory. The teasing twinkle in his eyes returned again when she made a silent scream of annoyance, turned her hands into fist, stamped on the ground and then sauntered off without another word. Leaving him standing as he suddenly laughed out loud.

He was not going to leave it like that. This was too precious to not tease her with for a bit longer.

"Aah," he said, as suddenly as he seemed to change his mood around, as if that would explain what was going on. With quick strides he caught up with Cian's annoyed pace once more. She wrinkled her nose at him, flaring her nostrils as she looked at him in a sheer pissed off mood.

"**Go. Away. Duvall**!" Her tone was again on the edge of no more warning. He could almost taste that action if he got her to ditch her boundaries for that. He could not resist trying to push her.

"Does the grumpy druid know you like him more than just a friend, Cian? Could he survive that knowledge? Are you finally going to steal his heart?" He guessed in mocking triumph. She did not answer.

"Ooh...he really does not know, does he?" Cian heard him roar with laughter now. But the laughter stopped as abruptly as he started when he looked at her. Whatever expression he thought to read on her face, she was not happy. Nor was he it seemed, although he did not show it like she did.

"Let it go, Duvall," she growled at him, slumping her shoulders as she hung her hands to her sides. He smirked persistently. "He really does not know you like him more than just the occasional fling you two have sometimes, does he?" She turned away from him. He did not like that.

"Well, then perhaps I need to be reminded of the ground rules of this game you seem to play," he said, his tone somewhat irritating when she did not budge on his whim. "It is not a game, Duvall, and it has nothing to do with Vald. I like him, no more then he likes me, nothing more," she claimed. Duvall was not so sure about that one, but she was also not clear to him if it was really bothering her or not. It bothered him more then he wanted to admit. So he kept his mask of merit on a bit longer, trying to see where it went.

"Enlighten me here. Am I wrong to assume that what you two have is mostly based on a mutual friendship and does not go beyond? Or does it?" He asked in disbelieve. Trying to stretch that theory some more. She shrugged at him, not answering his question. Whatever it was between her and Vald, they were close friends and nobody had any right to question her about that.

"Just leave it, Duvall, please?" she asked him.

"It is a human habit to celebrate this day. It has nothing to do with you, me or Vald, and there are no ground rules that turn this into a game, because it is none! It has everything to do with the fact you seem to think everything is a joke around you. Which is annoying and disrespectful to the person you try to mock with your attempts. Wrong day, wrong person, Duvall! _**Please leave me alone**_!" She sneered at him.

He stood, a little flabbergasted for the moment. She just paced out in anger again.

"How very mature of you, Cian," he mocked her. "Truth be told, I too am no game for this sort of petty prattle. I would not know where to begin if there even were rules. Courtesy of being cooped up for more than ten thousand years in a city protected by magic to keep everybody out. You get to date the same people and they become boring and annoying in the end. If I like to tell somebody something I will be sure to say it face to face," he mentioned. She shook her head at him.

"Fine, I did it to amuse you," Duvall bumped her shoulder gently as he grinned, being dubious about the real reason of his actions when he looked her over. Keeping at perfect level with the small angry woman next to him. She tried to move faster, heaving her elbows up higher as she nearly broke into a run. She was no match for his long legs. He let her take the front as he jogged after her with a wide smirk on his face.

"Hold on!" She said, suddenly stopping in mid track, which made him bump into her. They clashed so hard she nearly toppled over. He grabbed her by her shoulders, spinning her to face him. "What?" He asked innocently, looking at her as if she just discovered something he had not already known.

"If this is merely a mocking gesture for you, then why me? Why make an effort at all?" She asked him with a gloomy face. He shrugged. Then spun her around in a quick circle that made her a bit nauseating.

"**STOP THAT**!"She yelled. He stopped, holding up his hands with the palms up for her to see it was meant in a fun way, not to annoy her more. She turned on her heels to face him, a look of pure surprise when she put her thoughts together. He pressed his lips in a thin line when he gazed back at her, not liking what he saw in her expression as he tried to avoid that intend determined look on her.

"Why?" she asked him out of the blue. He spun away.

"Ah, well," Duvall said, standing at a few meters distance of her now as he raised to his full height, his posture slim and agile when he stood straight. "I take it that under any other circumstances you would have enjoyed such flattery?" He asked, sounding solemnly. She gave him a confused glare.

"Oh, come on Cian! I know you are not in a good place right now, you could not have been more obvious in your responses the past months. Nobody seems to be able to reach the inner you. Yet you smiled when you looked at that flower! Have the guts to admit to me you liked it. If not for the small gesture, then because it was pretty. Yet for some unknown reason to me you do not seem to enjoy the friendly attempts people try to offer you lately. We are not all out annoy, irritate and mock you, Cian," He smiled at her genuinely now. She did not return his smile.

"I admit, I like the flower, just not to be mocked by your gesture," she admitted begrudgingly, her kaldorei pride could not be denied in the tone of her voice. She heard him huff in exasperation for a moment. She returned the favour by imitating him.

"I swear I never meant anything mocking with it," he snapped suddenly, not impressed by that prideful sound in her voice from a mere moment ago.

"Testy aren't we?" She countered him. He blinked in annoyance. Now she gave him a half grin, as if she won this round. One that did not entirely reach her eyes but mostly told him of how she felt. He weighed his options for a moment.

"Speak for yourself," he said irritated. She growled low before trying to kick him against his knee when she paced in his direction. He jumped back, deflecting her attempt in a mock of amusement. "You are still not fast enough, Cian!" He threw that back at her when he disappeared right in front of her. She let out a frustrated sigh.

**"Go away, Duvall! For once!**" She called after him, again turning around in circles to try and identify his location. He suddenly smiled again, amused by her response, but she could not see him. "Not yet, Cian," he helped remind her of his persistance, circling her again. She scowled at him in the wrong direction. He chuckled when he passed her by in his stealthy manner and noticed her expression. Readable like an open book.

"I swear the stories are true, you are looking more like Vald each time you do that!" He countered with the echo of his laughter misguiding her to track him down again.

"Tell me something new!"She dared him. He grinned, she was unaware of the mischief that sparkled in his expression. He said nothing, just kept circling her in his stealthy way. "Tell me at least this. Did somebody put you up to this?"She looked as if she was about ready to deck him with a fist if he said the wrong thing. He toned down his options and chose the safest.

"Nobody put me up to it! I swear. But maybe you need to be honest with yourself and stop hiding," he told her, coming very close from her left side now. She moved her hand, again catching only thin air. She shrugged, going clockwise with his movement, glaring angrily at him when he did not give her a hint.

"Really Cian, nobody. Trust me on that one," he tried to ease her anger a bit, not coming out of his stealth yet. She snorted; Yeah, trust a rogue.

"Nobody but you?" She gave him a questioned look, unsure if he was looking at her or not. "Nobody but me," he echoed. She frowned deeply when she seemed confused about his answer yet again.

Duvall took advantage of the moment to come out of his stealth, catching her face in both his hands when he suddenly reappeared in front of her."Then at least be honest with yourself and have the guts to admit what is apparently obvious to others," he said to her, then kissed her straight on her mouth. A very light brush as he laughed with mischief against her lips at her astonished wide eyes. The dark left eye even seemed to gleam in the confusion she experienced. Then he was gone again, vanished on the wind. Leaving her standing in complete inner chaos.

He did not come back.

Later that night she bumped into Vald - after wandering aimlessly around the borders of the forest for no apparent reason other than the clear her head and make sense of her own thoughts. Which was weird to do, but admettedly was good as well.

Vald seemed surprised to find her more off guard then she had been of late. Cian stopped to look at him. Her expression guarded when he frowned. She shrugged lightly. He offered her the simple gesture of his hand. She took it, as she did so many times before. It settled a silence between them that needed no communication.

It was the moment he gave her that comforting smile as her friend - something he seemed to do more often lately- that made him a steady point in the waves of turbulence she had experience over the past year and more.

Seeing Vald trading his scowl for that same smile Cian used to wear on her face was strange. It also suited him in a way that made him appear friendlier then he had been for a long time.

A pair of gleaming eyes watched the two wander off into the direction of the woods. There was no frustration or relief in the sigh he uttered when he spied on them. Perhaps there should have been. Now he merely sat there, leaning back on the rock that he chose as his hide-out after he left her standing in the aftermath of the turmoil he caused. Still holding the blossoming flower in his hand he watched the two of them go with a sad look upon his face.


	7. Chapter 7

**When things change.**

When life finally accepts the majority of changes and settles, you can bet upon that dark place at the back of you- the one where the daylight does not seem to reach - that it will turn against you at some point.

Cian had experienced that first hand and was rather done with it.

Too much had happened to not rile her up in suspicion in the beginning when nothing else was thrown her way. Even where some things were disregarded with more ease, other mended over time and fragments of old hurt still lingered and refused to mend at full capacity, she was not as unsettled as she had been for the past year and a half. But she could not have dealt with that on her own.

But, what did you do with the left over mess?

Well then, she had a remedy for that one!

Cian had bricked those remnants nicely into the imaginary wall of her memories, taking the last remaining fragments of the worst moments and barricaded them into a dark corner of solitude at the back of her brain. Combine that with casting a few imaginary, yet complicated enchantments, over the thick brick wall she pulled up and one had the storyboard for a scene where she could firmly lock the door of that dark compact place inside her head and ended up conveniently losing the key.

For now at least.

Because when she could no longer move backwards, then all she could do was crawl out of that hole of misery and move forwards. Which she did. Leaving behind the safely bricked away defaults in the back of her mind.

In due times she would reopen it and find ways to file those too. Come to terms with the little left over pieces that she could not deal with. Because right now she was happy where she was. And if she had to make up the balance of things at the moment, then more often than not the better memories and cherished moments had the upper hand again.

Making it more bearable to miss the people important to her. Dead or living, they were her memories of the best and the worse moments in her life. It went in the same boat as pondering her thoughts about times before the Broken Isles. Not that she could change it - nor wished to- since things were as they were.

Vald helped her cut through the overgrown jungle of mess that she had to deal with over the past year and a half. Emotional jumble of things that was too much to overcome on her own. Cutting down the edges of the anger had been a long bitter aftertaste. A task that she could not have done without the consequential help of her family and those closest to her. The ones that left her behind, perhaps thought her lost or even dead, the ones that made her aware of who was important and who not. Those she had divided into neat piles in her mind among the rubble that cluttered her on worst days. And once she found a way out of that mess, things could be rearranged into a clearer way so that she could oversee what was important again. A space that made sense.

Right now Cian felt quite light hearted, less angered. Sometimes even cheerful again.

Though Vald's scowl still remained in her possession. Tugged away neatly for safe keeping, just in case.

Now Cian was at a point she never thought she would reach on her own. Vald's annoying comment of taking it day by day wasn't exactly the advice she had been taking to heart back then. No, back then that was the last thing she wanted to hear. Then she felt more like scratching people's eyes out, slamming heads together or dragging people out by their hair and throw them back into the void.

She shook off the feeling that had pulled her down her own swamp of sorrows for so long. Replacing it with the better mood she had acquired of late.

Vald's 'one step at a time route' had made it manageable. He made her do things she did not think she would ever do again. Such as form a bond with Dusk when her hunter skills left her hanging.

Or when he invited her to participate in the small druid lessons he taught her youngest, it triggering a whole new sensation within her that had been slumbering. He told her it could very well be she had insight in the balance of nature just as her mother had, but it could have been dormant because she chose to focus on her hunter abilities instead. After all both her parents had an affinity with druidism. Albeit her mother had chosen to walk that path much later in life when female druids were not uncommon anymore.

Whatever Vald's motives had been then, they were different now. Or perhaps they had been the same all along but she had not really paid enough attention to him.

The man was an enigma on his own. One moment showing her a well reserved patience when he taught his lessons, or when he slipped a man with a merit towards jesting and laughing - something he did not do often, but she seemed to trigger within him. Or the few moments when he showed her a certain taste of rage that whirled inside him when he was more feral, dark and unpredictable. A thing he did not often show. But she had seen it.

Most of his time he was in control and showed that agonizingly well organized patience of his. Another one of those abilities she too once held, patience. During his lessons he reminding her of things she had forgotten about. He did that in subtle ways with humour or a mere challenge. She liked him for those playful actions. Nudging her comfort zone in ways he managed to tear away the outer rim of it and extending a new path towards an area without her realising she did until she already walked it.

Vald had been with her the whole way the past year and a half, becoming a person she cared about. From the moment they found her and the others broken and closer to death days after they were ambushed on their last mission over Andu'Talah, up until the moment where she was now. Healed back to a point where she seemingly enjoyed what every day had to give again. Simple pleasures such as the subtle blossoming of flowers around her, or the persistent group of rodents that kept invading Lorlathil and left acorns everywhere to the annoyance of the local inhabitants of the village.

The darting deer and young newborn creatures. The lingering scent of freshly fallen rain. The rotation of the moons in a stark sky littered with tiny sparkling dots that were the stars. Or the nightly noises of the forest creatures hiding away in the shadows of the serenity surrounding the area.

Thinking back one and a half years into her memories she was not quite ready to deal with the whole truth yet. So he let her rage and scowl, mope and sulk, cry and scream over everything she needed to get out of her system.

Now she was finally ready to hear him clearly and learn from what he had to teach her. As a mentor, as a friend, as somebody she loved.

She smiled. If anything could be said about him then Vald had been a very persistent and annoying reoccurring person through the past time she dealt with her dark moments. Dealing with all her ups and downs. Now he was so much more to her then she initially realised.

Now she was at that imaginary crossroads where one signpost directed towards 'move ahead to' and the other signposts still directed back towards 'unknown area's' she was not quite ready to enter yet.

Instead Cian chose to walk ahead. Holding her head high. Although the path still felt unsteady under her feet, she loved every moment of those new steps. The new angles to look from and the way she could figure out things she did not before. And it seemed Vald was there for the next phase of the journey, ready to entice her with new dares and different views. For which she was secretly grateful. Glad that he had not walked out on her.

It only taken her to act like a fool to figure that one out. Reality had smacked her hard upside the head at that very moment, bowing to her in a mocking gesture after tapping her on the shoulder and inviting her to a dance of the fools for not figuring out the obvious signals she had not seen back then. Pondering that very thought for a moment, Cian wondered if that was how Duval had felt when she smacked him upside the head in reality after the Love is in the Air festivities months ago?

His actions set in motions a row of questions that really had a simple answer.

Find out and deal with it!

She smiled a little to herself over that, Duval's action also told her where she stood in regards to Vald. Perhaps she felt a pinch of guilt over how she handled Duval and their situation. It wasn't her best moment. Making a mental note in her more cleared out head, she hoped Duval would be willing to talk with her so they could solve this awkwardness between them.

Heavily in thoughts she automatically wandered into the direction of the bridge that crossed the river that passed to one side of Lorlathil. Today she felt at ease, a feeling that had been wavering for a long time. She welcomed the difference, felt nothing could topple her easily out of that.

Until a moment ago.

Deep in thoughts she nearly bumped into somebody when she set her foot on the wooden ramp of the bridge. "Well, what a coincidence," a male voice said, sounding hardly exited when she almost collided with him. "Cian Wolfsbane," the way her name was drawled out in an annoyed way by the man that stepped in front of her. He knocked her back to reality alright. The easy feeling she had enjoyed a mere moment ago instantly dropped to a stealthy halt and vanished like a rogue.

"Indaris Moonclaw, what do you want from me?" She nearly spat out the name of the man in front of her as if she tasted rotten fish. A stern expression met hers. Weaved into the harsh features of a man with the air of a proper highborn noble. High cheekbones, a long straight nose, a neatly trimmed beard and long white hair that was pulled back in a sleek tail at the back of his head that spilled long past his shoulders. A long arrogant stare made her grunt at him. Dull silver eyes assessed her in a fashion the circle of old blood would have diminished the lower castes of the Kaldorei society with to a status unfit to intermingle with the higher classes. For now he wanted her to believe that perhaps.

He had been hunting her down for weeks now, trying to get her on her own because - as he stated - he had wished to speak to her. She kept him at bay, ignoring him, telling him exactly what she thought and that she had no interest in listening to him. Though from the looks he was giving her he was not going to take no for an answer today, or was he? She could see it in his rigid stance and the way he deliberately blocked her path.

And there it was again! Life creating problems of unknown origin that needed to be dealt with. And she was so not in the mood for this one right now!


	8. Chapter 8

**Once, long ago. **

Once, a long time ago, Indaris Moonclaw did not look like the druid he resembles today. Nor did he really resemble the man he had started out as, under another name and under different circumstances.

Once upon that long ago time, this man with high cheekbones, a long somewhat straight nose, a firm jaw line, a neatly trimmed beard and long white hair did not look half as savage as he did today.

With a nose that clearly had been broken a few times over the past years, and a face with faint scars he was now far more savage then he once had before he gained more bulk to his posture and learned new ways to live a different life.

Then he tried to maintain that neatly kept beard, but his long white hair had spilled down his back in a different fashion. Not the kaldorei fashion he later adopted. Ears and wrists that were decorated with ornaments in silver and gold that matched his expensive robes and wristbands. Set with dark blue gemstones to give it a little bit of that imposing allure he then felt suited his person.

Back then his robes were best described as the colour of the sea, bleeding from a dark sky blue to a faint green swirl that dabbled itself over the cloth, ending at the bottom in a white decorative line that could easily resemble foam and was trimmed around the rim of his robes. Foam on waves as you see it when the sea is at its angriest, when the wind is at its worst. Treacherous dark water where white foam rides on the tops of wild waves. They weren't specifically robes that told anybody his rank or status, nor did his bejewelled wristbands or ornate ear and hair pieces tell anything other than that he was perhaps a man from an old lineage. The items he wore merely were a thing of significance to him personally, simply because he felt he earned the privilege to wear them and show off that he was rich enough to decorate himself with such finery, draped in robes that fitted him to a certain perfection. Clothes that suited his body posture with a snit that made him seem tall, lean, stern and foremost...proud.

Once, a long time ago the sea turned into a whole different colour then his robes resembled one day. It coloured a dark, almost black to the point where people should have seen the warning signs, where they would have rushed to safety. Foreboding warnings that should have told them the storm that was coming wasn't a normal one.

He never wore robes that resembled the colour of the sea again after that day. Nor did he ever don his hair, ears and wrists with beautifully carved silver and golden ornaments anymore.

Long ago he wasn't there when his family drowned and when the water coiled in angry waves above their heads, overwhelming the Highborn. He wasn't there to use his magical abilities to help try an save his people. He wasn't there because he was send out on what he recalled was a stupid errand that caused him to be away from his family for weeks. Something that had to do with a mere disturbance among the Kaldorei lower casts, the ones he considered beneath his status. People that meant nothing to him.

Once, long ago the sea broke and caused a giant flood wave that swallowed everything, pulling asunder what was once a place he called home along with what he considered his people. Wrecking buildings, tearing off the land and crumbling the remains of an ancient civilisation to its barest minimum.

That day not only his people died, but his family drowned with them. Everything he had ever known was gone, destroyed and pulverized, now rested on the very bottom of the same salt waters that swallowed his life in one go.

Leaving him with nothing.

Once, long ago a girl with long curly silver white hair had screamed at her father - him- of how he was not worthy of their mother. How he shamed his family name, how he did not bother to be a good father to her and her brother. How he made their mother cry and feel ashamed of the way he acted. Slanted his family name, unworthy to be spoken of. Ignored by the higher casts.

That girl had wild silver white hair before she drowned long ago. She never made it to adulthood. He remembered her almost looking regal in her last admission to give him the most defiant of stares she could give him before he left that day. She gave him her unwanted and strong willed opinion. That if he left now, he better not return!

Something he regretted waving away as if it meant nothing. It had not meant anything if all had been well.

But all wasn't well.

Her strong stubborn will was something he knew she inherited from him and not from the wife who's match to him never had anything to do with love. Their marriage had mostly been out of convenience for their bloodlines. Their offspring was supposed to hold strong magic...

His daughter had screamed at him for so many things that day. It was the last memory of his first daughter that still haunted him at night. Of the girl that parted with him in anger and of how he could never make up for that.

Once, long ago, he would have punished her for that behaviour upon his return home. Demand the respect she owed him as her father.

But he was not there to hear his families cries for help when they were struck that fateful day. He wasn't there to comfort the wife, the one he did not really like, and lie to her that things would be alright. He did not get a chance to tell her that he would try harder, make a difference. That they would work it out.

He wasn't there to tell his family how they had to keep faith that the Queen would save them all. He wasn't there to tell his son and daughter- the ones he did love- that he wanted to save them. Them alone! Let the rest drown!

But the son and daughter had drowned with their mother and the rest of his family. Left behind, buried in the water. A cold wet grave. He wasn't there to save any of them. Yet their screams still echoed in his mind.

Once, long ago he jolted awake at night from nightmares where his heart beat in his throat and sweat dripped down his back and remembered him of his family with a deep pain and a claw of sadness that squeezed his heart.

Instead of dying with his family that fateful day, he was away to aid in minor disputes that should not have been his concern to begin with. Things he should not have worried about because they regarded Kaldorei from lower casts. Those who's circumstances weren't considered his job. Who's state of fare or ways of living meant nothing to him. They, who were regarded by the higher casts with indignity. Mere servants. Expendable.

Things he could have cared less about. Long ago.

That they were the same people he regarded with such limited sympathy once, were also the same that saved him from a certain death. Something that lingered in his thought much, much later. Too overwhelmed, too much in grief for the loss of his family of what had happened to consider he might have been lucky. Although back then he did not consider himself fortunate.

Many times he thought that it was perhaps better that he too should have died in the waves with his family during the Sundering. But it seemed Elune was not quite done with him yet. And long ago he decided he wanted to live. Out of nowhere he picked himself up and finally accepted the gift given to him by the Goddess of the Moon.

Life.

Now, he was grateful that he did. And that those same Kaldorei were the ones that offered him sanctuary. A chance to survive. To align himself with the Kaldorei as they reformed under Tyrande and Malfurions ways. To live under a new reign. Re-invent himself in a new a place in the world.

Back then he felt alone at first, lost among the wandering souls that - like him - did not know where to go either. Or how to fit in. Their splendour was all gone, and adapting was hard. Until he met with new opportunities and challenges. New people that made his life interesting again. New trades, new teachings, new ways of working with the magic that strummed through his veins.

And even when old habits became the very curse of his newly formed druidic ability, he still lived!

He fell in love, wooed her into becoming his. They became parents of a beautiful daughter. He did not get the chance to be her father, because fate decided other ways to be cruel to him and arcane magic got a new and drugging hold on him once more. Those with arcane magic were banned, hunted. Which again left him to be separated from those he loved, though not quite like before.

So he lay low, in hiding. Always keeping an eye out from a distance. A white lie he decided together with his second wife, long ago before he fell prey to his old arcane addiction.

Getting back into the arcane had been a mistake. Another thing he regretted to the core of his very bones. Listening to the ones who lured him into believing the arcane addiction could be handled with ease. The blame of that mistake was his own, though that too haunted him.

Guilt spread out like a rot, feeding on old hurt.

He believed he could handle it, simple because it had to be secretively executed, that it was only for those with a grand ability in wielding arcane magic. Old habits died hard, old ways relived, making him taste again of the upper class he used to live as. Totally disregarding his newly found balance in his druidic abilities because of those who tried to make him turn his back on the new ways and relive his old.

Arcane was not welcomed among the kaldorei due to old sore. And so he fell prey to his own foolishness, forfeiting his so carefully build new life. Jeopardizing the bond he formed with a woman he did love. Just for an overbearing need to use his arcane powers once more, to be who he once was. Only to find that the group he associated with were as out of control as he felt when he used his arcane affliction. It tumbled him back into disgrace again.

He did not wish to come along when they were banned. He wanted to pick up the pieces of his life. To see his child grow up like he did not see his other two.

Though this time, by his own fault, he was alone again. Not because somebody else had done it for him. But he learned from his mistakes. And worked his way back. Losing his addiction, which cost him much. Leaning heavily on the new ways he was taught as a druid. And working hard to not lose his second wife too.

But he needed time. Time to work out things, time to regain control over himself before he would fall to the deepest of his fears. Long ago he was such a contradiction to what he was now.

Even if he went in hiding and went back to his old habits for a while to work out how to deal with himself. how to balance himself again. Surprisingly his second wife never stopped loving him. Not even when they were centuries apart. So they worked out a plan, a lie. A story they could tell in case people remembered him and asked. It would keep him safe during his hiding. So she did not truly have to grief him when they parted. And he would not be banned, hunted or perhaps killed because of his hold on his arcane habits.

Long ago things were different. But the world learned to adapt like he had. And now that arcane was very slowly accepted again among the Kaldorei -although with a very wary eye towards the past- it also meant he could work his way out of hiding. Reclaim his place in life again.

But with the burning of Teldrassil things had become a bit more complicated and most of the surviving Kaldorei were scattered throughout Azeroth if they did not reside in Stormwind. He had to seek hard to find information that eventually led him to the whereabouts of Sivh again, his second wife. Sivh and his only surviving daughter, Cian.

Months ago he found his way back to Lorlathil.

A strange peace overcame him upon seeing the very place where he once trained as a druid. And when he met with his wife again, he could only feel overjoyed. Sticking to the ancient forests surrounding Lorlathil, he only came into the village on occasion. Never to openly visit with those he knew. If any of the inhabitants of old still living there ever recognised him, they did not show it. Which was fortunate. So he met in secret with Sivh, working out the details of the next part of his plan to step out into the living world once more.

Sitting out his chance to finally seek Cian out. To really meet with her for the first time in his life. To see his legacy in the eyes of the child he never thought he would have. Perhaps in hopes of cementing a bridge between the lies and cliffs that grew each time Sivh told the story they chose to tell. Perhaps she would speak with him, willingly hear him out. A thought that had shaped in his minds- eye so long ago. Hope flaring.

That Cian would scream at him too, was not something he could have foreseen. But perhaps it was fitting in honour of the memories of old and the uncanny resemblance between both his children.

But once, long ago, was not now. Now he stood on the bridge where he blocked her way and she became furious with him. Now he did not stare at a child with the stern look of a parent who would deal with his child later once the rage was over. Now he stared at a very angry woman that had grown into adulthood long ago. One that stood fuming in front of him about how he needed to either tell her what he wanted from her or just leave her alone! That, or she threatened she would hurt him, badly!

He had no doubt she would make that thread worth his while. He let her scream at him, willingly.

She was a lively person, which pleased him in a way he could not exactly explain. One with a lot of inward damage that was obviously not sorted yet, from the way she berated him in all her anger. Though it went better then the very first time he tried to approach her randomly. Then she had been so hostile he backed off, to keep her from attacking him. Months ago she had not been willing to listen to anything, too hurt, too damaged, too much grieving of her own. He silently hated Firea for what she done to his child.

Today he wasn't going to back away, today he would tell her what he wanted to share. And as he abided yet another chance to speak in between the waterfall of angry assumptions she threw his way, he compared his memories of old with the daughter in front of him. All while watching her with reserved air, perhaps because he did not know how to properly approach her.

Cian with her lavender skin and mismatching eyes: one silver, the other a dull milky dark with a cracked lens that had been punctured by something as the lines of the broken iris spread out like a fine spiders web from the centre to the sides of her eyeball.

In her he saw himself and his animated anger. She was so like him. Even more so then his first daughter had resembled him. He found it fascinating to see it in the way she expressed herself with her hands, how she tilted her head, how she stumped her foot on the ground in sheer anguish of the tirade that wrecked havoc on his ears. Then there was the way of her rigid stance, resembled his own so closely it was almost scary. In front of him stood a woman that danced to the movement of her emotions. Uninhibited to keep herself at bay when he was around, shouting her lungs out at him for forming a suspicious threat of unknown origin to her and her family she did not wish for.

He could not even blame her for that part, he would have done the exact same thing.

Though perhaps he could have thought it over before he blocked her way across the bridge and so forcefully pushed himself in her path. Before he encountered her she seemed in a delighted mood, smiling even. Probably without realising it. Here she stood now, arguing with him as she tried to figure out what it was he was wasting her time for!

Once, long ago a daughter of old had given him her most defiant look as she stared up at her father. Now Cian gave her finest degree of anger, underlined with the same demure that vibrated with wanting to snap his head off if she could.

His arrogant stare was met with an equally angry and arrogant stare back of defiance from her side. The grunt she made was worthy of an orc when she uttered it his way to give him her utmost show of disapproval. He gazed at her from where he stood. Mostly realising how much he missed of her growing up. It would not be an easy way to introduce himself properly to the silver haired copy of Sivh. In a way it was almost amusing. Surely she could not get any more angry with him then she was now?

For a moment he refused to let the faint smile that wanted to curve his lips up take over. Trying to contort his stern arrogant mask of bored parental neutrality into a smirk of approval. But it would not work in his favour if he did. Instead his dull silver eyes gleamed with a hint of merit as he assessed Cian in a fashion the circle of old blood would have regarded his offspring. Calculating. Though not in a bad way.

Now he stared into the very features of a fully grown woman that resembled his first daughter to such a haunting degree that they could have been a twin. If not for the many thousands of years between them. An old memory of a daughter long dead, mirrored in Cian, a daughter very much alive.

But as the last of his children, this daughter did reach adulthood and turned into a person on her own. A genetic coded surprise between him and Sivh. One they never thought they would conceive.

Even though he did not have the privilege of really knowing her from birth he would have to start somewhere. And as he observed her with his stern Highborn expression he was silently thankful for seeing her now, after all this time. To see who she grew up to be, how she fared, that she was a mother herself.

Once, long ago he had to make choices he regretted. He vowed he would make up for it. Because it was time to turn the table and bet on what he had left.

And what he had left stood shouting at him, face to face with him, all but an arm length away. His left hand automatically reached out to her, to touch the dancing silver ray of uneven strands. Yet he pulled back his hand at the very last moment.

Long ago he would not have dared to step in front of her this way and look her in the eyes.

Now he did.

"**Well**?" Cian spat his way, luring him out of his train of thoughts. Past and present blended back together as he watched her. The memory of his first daughter overlapping the memory of Cian. The one that snarled at him at this very moment.

"**Indaris Moonclaw, what **_**do**_** you want from me?**" She demanded, a hint of hopelessness shimmering in her voice. He did not answer. Instead he pondered his words carefully, taking a little longer to look her over from head to toe. Something he taught himself to do long ago, not instantly respond, but observe the surroundings he was given.

Cian crossed her arms in front of her to tell him she was done with whatever game he was playing. She stood there, cursing under her breath at him. So much like him!

And suddenly he threw his head back and laughed out loud as she stared at him with an expression as if he just lost his very mind.


	9. Chapter 9

**Liar liar.**

_"Liars, the both of them!"_ her stubborn mutter was lost in the darkness of the night. Simple clouds overlay a dark blanket of sparkly stars and hid the moon away behind what appeared to be a grey tuft of fluffy cotton that drifted above her. Reflecting it to the fairly calm waters of the salty surf in front of her.

She inhaled, salt tinged the air when she did. It was nice. Easy, predictable. Unlike all else it seemed. The air did not harbour ill wishes or tried to spin make belief that shattered like a mirror into a thousand pieces when the truth popped up, dropping the mirror on the stones. All the fragments of that shattered mirror felt like all the lies weaved into a lifetime of untruths. And her mother was the biggest liar of them all!

Cian had no clue where to begin unravelling this network of untold truth when it came to her mother. It wasn't as if Sivh had not slipped before.

**_Liars, liars, all of them!_**

It sounded like a mantra, repeating itself within the confined space of her skull, pressing against the darkest spot in the back of her head. Well, maybe not the darkest spot, but dark enough. Especially since it bordered against the door in the wall where all of her unwanted and cramped up left-over stuff was hidden. Things she didn't want to deal with. The dark place seemed larger than before, and Cian wondered if it had to do with the pile of mess she felt she was drowning in.

For now it was all safely tugged behind a thick imaginary brick wall that she pulled up, coated in heavy spells. Just to feel safe. To conveniently be forgotten. Warded with runes and locked down under the thrall of enchanted spells, stamped upon its foundation to keep everything in, and her out.

Spells.

Cian let her mind roam over the word. She didn't know any magic like that, did she? With the current turn of events she wasn't so sure anymore.

When she stood scolding her mother earlier that evening, Sivh confirmed everything she did not wish to hear. Her mother stood with her arm around that man's waist, leaning against him as she nodded at everything Cian spat her way. Confusion hit her like one of Basalts heavy blacksmith hammers colliding with its counterpart, the anvil, when Sivh did not deny anything. Nor did she counter or try to talk it straight. Which surprised her. It still rung in her ears.

Cian tried to wrap her head around the multitude of lies Sivh had weaved to keep up the charade of her father's death. She kept it up for so long that she sounded totally sincere in her grief when she told Cian about the man that was her father and that she lost him in battle. When Cian growled in anger that she should have been honest, all Sivh said that covering up the truth had been a necessary lie. When Cian asked why Indaris's vague answer was that the circumstances had been dire and dangerous for him as Arveim.

Or Indaris...or Arveim...whatever he wished to call himself?

She didn't care in the end. Did not really wish to hear it. It was too much. Too raw to take in. Too much of a grey area.

What it mostly did was make her furious, again.

"**_LIES! All of it! Liars, all of them!_**" she called out to them. The expression on Sivh's face had been one of remorse. Her lips pushed together so tightly that they were only a thin line when she looked so furiously at her mother. Cian stormed off in her anger. Again...

Anger and scowls. That seemed to be her expression of late.

Now she ended up on the dim lit beach with its light brown sand. Setting herself down on a small hill covered with new grass that started growing again now the Legion no longer polluted the lands. At least for that she could smile. Tiny starts of new life sprouting from the soil in all areas was a good thing. Now the Broken Isles only had to deal with its current inhabitants. And Cian hoped that she would see more changes in the scenery over time. It would be nice to see the ancient forests of Val'sharah repopulate its trees and grow back into its original thick and lush state.

But she had not ended up here to muse over new life. She was feeling the unease of things she could not grasp. Mostly the why of it.

The soft sound of the waves in front of her beckoned her. Inviting her to come and dip her feet in the cold salt water where she could forget what had happened for the moment. Walk bare foot through the surf. Feeling the sand between her toes.

Instead she sat there, a nocturnal creature like all of her kind, slumped in a sitting position. Knees pulled up to her chin and arms wrapped around them, pondering the majority of the things she could understand.

Her thoughts went over old memories. From long before the Broken Isles. From before she was who she was now. She met a lot of liars over time. Persons who got so up close under her skin that she never saw it coming. Too naive? No!

Cian shook her head. Not too naive, just not paying enough attention. Too occupied was more the phrase.

Some of those people were worse than others. Some transparent enough to give away subtle hints of what they were about to do. Like looking her straight in the eyes, lying through their teeth. It made her furious. Some were not worth mentioning, like Firea...she grunted an unladylike sound for thinking about the woman at all. She disliked that one with a passion!

She did not sound any better than her own mother right now. Feeling they were both rotten to the core. Yeah, all of them!

Was her whole family like that? Did she seriously not see the hints that were spilled when all these untruth's were taking root and formed a story that was not even real. Making her believe things that she grieved over were really there. What was the fun in such lies?

Everything was out of perspective. Cian wondered why it riled her so much. Sivh done it before, keep the truth from her. She wondered what else her mother had conveniently forgotten to tell her over the years.

There was probably a whole damned list!

Cian clamped her face between her hands and bend her neck forwards, feeling the long tangle of messy silvery curls drop around her like a wild curtain of untamed vines. Fingers rubbing her temples, feeling the broken pattern of scars on her skin that came around from the left side and marred part of her eyelid, running over her cheekbone down to the sideline of her jaw. They were faint by now, but still there if she touched her face. Vald had tried to heal it as best he could, but some scars - he told her- could not be fixed.

Perhaps like some people could not be honest?

"Treacherous family," she muttered to the silence of the night.

"And what about you? Ciel? Are you not part of that very family?"

The voice that drifted from the forest edge that bordered the sand of the beach towards the dark even water she looked out on, startled her beyond anything. Cian's head snapped up, the tangled mess of hair falling in front of her face, only leaving her nose poking out and her right eye to stare out from between the uneven strands.

She nearly jumped up when she heard Duvall appear out of his stealthy movement. How the hell did he always manage to creep up on her?

The dark shade of blue on his skin seemed different at night, lit up with faint glowing arcane runes that shimmered over his skin, then they vanished again. She watched him with caution. The slender build of the rogue clad in a dark leather outfit was a sight on its own. He looked agile, lean and fast. The hidden array of knifes neatly tugged away in his leather belts and holders that crossed over his chest. She looked angry. He did not ask for an invitation, he just sat himself down next to her.

Their shoulders brushed when he moved. She grumbled.

Reminding her that here was another one of the people that disturbing her to a level that she knew she had to deal with him at some point. How many lies had he try to feed her? Did he try?

She sucked in her breath when he seemed to watch her. Silently giving her notice of that talk she had been postponing. But here he was.

"What do you want?" she bit his way. He did not seem surprised to hear the bitter tone in which she talked.

Cian stared up into his angular face. Duvall had high cheekbones with a straight nose that had changed over the time she got to know the rogue. His face was fuller and he looked far healthier then he had before. Now he no longer was turning into one of those damned ones. She could see he must have been handsome once. Perhaps long before he wasn't eaten away by the burden of an arcane addiction so bad that it consumed him and the rest of his people, turning them into an eternal starving looking carcass that fitted right in with the forsaken.

Doomed leftovers of their former glory days.

Even so he still had a certain appeal sitting there next to her, totally at ease with himself from the looks. She would never admit to him he always startled her to a certain degree, especially when he appeared out of nowhere.

"Did I say it out loud?" she asked instead, turning the awkward silence between them to use. He slowly nodded.

"You tend to do that without noticing," he mentioned. She shrugged, then lowered her gaze to her hands. Looking at fingers she had been clasping together in such a tight way that she could feel the protest of her muscles as she unclenched the cramped position.

"So they are all liars?" Duvall reminded her. Cian tipped her chin up to look at him. Even seated he was not entirely at eyelevel with her. She did not answer him, instead rolled her shoulders to get the annoying kinks out from the muscles in her shoulders.

"They are," she confirmed eventually. The lit up mix of purple and pink hues of his eyes assessed her in silence.

"And you? Are you not a liar too?" Duvall asked. He sounded so casual that it took her a moment to realise exactly what he was saying. Her mouth opened, gaping at him, then she closed it again. Her eyebrows rose, then she frowned. The frown deepened with the subtle muscles moving, bunching up right on top of her nose bridge, pulling the skin in wrinkles that creased her eyes in a different angle. Pulling her eyebrows tight together. Tipping her nostrils up in a way that gave her an incredulous expression when she stared at him in disbelieve.

"No?" She countered him, the lie instant. Why did that bother her?

"Really? Because I think you are a liar too. Or a grand master of denial at best," he smiled, satisfied when he saw her mouth open again when the impact of his words hit home. Cian didn't say anything, she inhaled sharply without a sound. He could see the rise of her upper body as she did so. Tiny movements he was attuned to observe in others.

"I think you have been lying to yourself so much that you forgot that there was no actual truth in some of your own actions either. Basically you are as bad as you claim your mother is," he sounded very serious about it. Cian blinked, exhaling slowly. Her nostrils flared out wider when she released her frown.

It took her awhile before she talked. Considering his words.

"And exactly _how_ does that make me a liar?" she eventually asked, jumping around the subject of her being one too. He smiled again. Hints of merit showed on his features when the moon broke through the clouded sky above them. Just for a brief moment before his features were dipped in shadows again.

"Do you really wish to know what I think? Ciel?" He asked her, trying to get her to look his way. She didn't. She said nothing, but the way her hands clasped together again and her shoulders dipped in a certain way told him more than words could. He laughed softly.

"Ciel, my dear, you are making things so hard for yourself," he murmured. She flinched, hearing him say the nickname Vald had given her. It didn't sound right when he said it. It didn't suit the tone of his voice and it didn't have the ring to it that it held whenever Vald used it. Vald could say it in a variation of different ways, making it sound teasing, lazy, angry, happy or even surprised. Hearing it from Duvall reminded her mostly that she chose Vald instead of taking his invitation during the Love is in the Air festivity.

Ignoring that day was good! Denial at its best.

Admitting that to herself turned it into a truth that told her she had indeed been lying to herself in a way, just like he said. She silently cursed that thought.

"Do you want to hear my take on it?" He sounded neutral when he dropped the question her way. Cian thought for a moment. Staring towards the small waves running up the sand before they retreated. It was a welcome distraction when she averted her gaze from him.

"I see you do not. But maybe you will either way if I tell it to you anyway. Call it unasked advice from a friend, because I think you need this," he said gently, suddenly sounding so much more older and ancient then she was. He let her stare awhile longer into the shining salt water that only mildly wrinkled around. Churning small circles and then smoothing out again to a calm mirror of dark water.

"Sometimes people do things that do not sit well with the ones they love. People make excuses for the actions that hurt others. Trying to justify what they did. Because sometimes you cannot control it. No matter what you choose to do. You cannot really avoid the outcome, but you can do damage control. And I think your mother tried to do damage control over the years, in silence. Perhaps hoping she could ease the blow of the truth a bit when the time was right to tell you the whole story," he said. She bit her lower lip, listening to him as he continues speaking.

"But ever since you came here you have been angry and unreasonable. Swirling around in that anger like a whirlwind. You became bitter for some reason. And I think I get why. Too much happened to you the past years from what I gathered. I think even Basalt will agree with me on that part. From what I understood over the past year talking to your brother and your oldest child gave me a whole different impression of you then who you are now. Am I close? Does that bother you?"He asked, not expecting an answer when there remained an awkward silence between them.

She pressed her lips together, turning her head, ready to tell him off in a snappy comment that he had no business talking to her family. Especially not to Allium for whatever reason he thought made it right. When he continue, not allowing her to explode at him in anger. Cunning bastard!

"Allium told me how Basalt agreed to fly Thiandis, herself and Arrel here. And why she did it. She is far wiser then she lets us know, your daughter. Basalt told me in what state you were found when he finally tracked you down. How they grieved you in a way when they thought you were dead. Much like you did your father?" He reminded her. She shrugged. She didn't really want to hear it, well, yes and no. Denial and untruth in one.

"The current Cian does not live up to the Cian they used to know," he told her.

"Sometimes so many things happen in such a short amount of time that a person cannot deal with it all without going a little off balance. And I think you have been walking a very thin line between tripping and trying to juggle whatever was thrown your way as best you could. Stubbornness runs in your family it seems," he smiled at that. She nodded in silence.

"Stubbornness is not a very appealing trait anymore when you keep bouncing against the same wall over and over, is it? It makes you bitter when you cannot coax all the mess into something useful or push it onto the right path. I know a little about that myself. Being unable to live with what was thrown my way. I am not here because I am such a welcome addition to my own people," he didn't sound bitter when he added that to the question he left hanging in the air for her.

Cian's eyelids narrowed, wanting to deny it. She stared back at him. Knowing he was right.

"This isn't who you are, is it? Allium told me a little about you from before the Broken Isles. How you used to be. So different." It wasn't a question, but a confirmation from his side that he was well informed and that he could read her very easily when she sighed.

More silence between them.

"Am I that transparent? Are you telling me I should just forgive and forget?" Cian's voice sounded small when she asked him. "No, not forgive and forget, but perhaps hold less of a grudge, take advice from others sometimes. Learn from it. You might want to talk to your daughter sometimes, Ciel, she has quite a cunning mind for her age from what I learned. Intriguing young lady, stubborn like her mother," he smiled gently. Cian seems uncertain.

"Let's just say that becoming bitter to your surroundings hardens you in a way that helps you survive. I get that. I have been doing it myself for a long time. But sometimes you forget who you were. Not because you want to forget, but because it just happens. It slips. Like your mother. Sivh was probably so caught up in keeping up the fable they created around your father, that she easily forgot the initial lie caused a far heavier impact then she probably wanted. And you, my dear," he said it in a low tone,"-do the exact same thing. You are every bit your mothers daughter in that regard too from the way I look at it." She gave him a gloomy look. Instead he took her hand, squeezing long slender fingers clad in leather gloves and entwined them with hers for a moment.

"It is not entirely wrong, nor is it entirely right. But it is how one responds," he looked at their hands. "Just think about it, because like you, I think your mother- too- might have been in a very difficult position when it came to your father. Maybe you should hear their side of the story first before you judge them," he finally told her.

He let go of her hand when Cian looked sideways at him. Duvall leaned his long legs in front of him, digging his heels in the sand under him as he seemed to carve holes in the fine structured grains. He seemed to observe her, taking in her features after what he just told her. Then he moved, gracefully like Dusk. A predator stalking its prey.

Duvall's hand went for her face when he leaned closer. Gracefully cupping one of her cheeks, the other whipping away the strands of hair that covered her face. Pushing them behind her ears with a gentle effort.

She stiffened, her shoulders squared as she felt herself grow rigid. He all but smiled when he felt her sudden change. A sad smile curving his lips when he let her face go and tilted his head to the side to watch her more closely.

"In other times," he mused. The smile faded as if he was reminded of a moment lost in time to him. She stared back at him, wondering exactly how many years he had on her. Being cooped up within that dome for a near ten thousand years made him the way he was, she figured. Though Cian could not even phantom the magnitude of what that must have been like.

"Even in other times, I think Vald would have always been in your way," she said softly, telling him this way that she finally made a choice that specific night. He nodded in understanding.

"Ah, yes," she heard him say as he clicked his tongue. She held her breath for a moment.

"I'm glad you finally made a choice though. Albeit I would have wished it were different. I know Vald has been trying to help you, but perhaps you can try giving the people that care about you a little bit of that Cian you used to be? Ease the burden by looking at it together and you might find it is less horrible to admit you can use their help then to lie to yourself and tell everybody you can handle it all on your own when you really can't. In due time that will consume you. Like something else once consumed me. Don't go that way, my dear," he sounded regretful when he said it.

She watched him stand up with an easy grace to his person that she could never match. Probably because there were thousands of years between them. In both training and abilities.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"I hope you will consider my advice, it comes from a kind heart." He bowed to her, a formality of old. Then he vanished with a chuckle on the night, sliding into his stealth and blended with the shadows where she could no longer see him.

She glanced at the water in front of her, a black sea of slight movement. Making up the balance in her mind of all of the current events.


	10. Chapter 10

**Moment**

While the sun rises in the early morning hours, Cian sits where she has sat for the past few day and nights. Just sitting, hardly sleeping, too much to deal with. Only moving when needed.

Today the weather seems more pliant then the past few days. Where mostly rained for a full two days. Not that she really minded that. It was needed rain. Rain that came down in heaps. Disturbing both the forest soil to the edge of the beach, as the very beach itself. Dipping it all in greyish shades while fat drops turned the sand and forest soil in small streams of mud that got pooled between the roots and dipped holes in the fine grit of the light brown sand. It even made the sea uneasy.

But today all the puddles have vanished and the sand seems to be its fine gritted self again. The forest foliage behind her looks lush, fresh and green once more while the sea has turned back into a smoother mirror of salt water.

Cian leans both her elbows on her knees, slumping a bit forwards in her sitting position while she rests her chin in her folded hands. Tiredness catches her for an unguarded moment when she doses off. Alarmed she sits upright again, feeling her muscles strain in an annoying cramp that trails down to her spine and gets stuck halfway in the muscles of her back. Blinking while half awake again she shakes her head, unnerved for a moment.

Also just in time to watch the first glittering reflection of the sun slowly drip over the still smooth surface of water, reflecting themselves before stretching out further and reaching the sandy shores with light. It does not only give a rather fascinating display of colours in the water and on the sand, but also gives a show up in the sky. Where a whole different palette paints itself together within the early morning sky.

She has seen it often by now, each time it was different. Like day and night are different.

Today there are ample clouds, the ones visible almost look eatable. She frowns and shakes her head at that thought, smiling lightly. No, they look more like thistles , who's flowers turn into a clutter of fluffy white and explode on the wind to scatter around to anywhere. Going in all directions, assuring there will always grow new thistles somewhere else. Maybe close by, maybe far away. The smile on her lips remains in silence.

Before her the sky continues its early morning visual. Painting itself in different directions. Behind the clouds stretches a stark blue sky in different variation. But the sky keeps changes with the colour palette it is given, slowly mixing and seeping over those same clouds, bathing them in a soft beautiful mix of gold's, oranges, yellows and pink hues . Giving the sky a warm demure.

Watching the stunning ritual unfold itself, it also gives her an actual feeling of ease. mesmerizing over the big bright globe that warms your day. Beautiful in its own right.

Here she does not have to worry, face her mother or so called father or deal with anything. Maybe it is why she chose to remain here after her encounter with Duvall a few days ago. Nobody wants to hear they are considered a liar. Even though it nags still, he has a point. One she is not willing to admit yet. Not the best choice perhaps, then again she seems prone to make the wrong decisions of late, letting herself be ruled by emotions of mostly anger.

"So," a voice to her left rumbles and disturbs her thoughts. Even though she instantly knows the voice, she only feels his presence when he stands right behind her. Startled she silently curses under her breath: Damned screwed up hunter senses!

"I did not hear you approach," she says eventually. There is a light chuckle from behind her when he moves. Then a pair of knees line with the span of her shoulders and lean slightly against her slumped position. Toes poke against the side of her rear when she feels him lean over her. Long dark hair falls forwards, tickling her forehead before it darkens her view. His face is edged in shadows underneath that hair of his. When she looks up she can faintly make out the outlining of an upside down smile while his face hovers above hers.

"You're blocking my view," she tells him, almost offended. He snorts.

"Liar," he says with some irony in his voice. She flinches at the word, then huffs semi dramatically at him, sticking out her tongue.

His hair is a stark contrast with her own. It mingles with the unruly strands that seem to have a life of their own when she moves her head further back, until the back of it leans against him for support. Silver white meets midnight blue.

His smile now turns into an upside down lopsided grin that makes him look cheeky when he grins back at her. Damned druid!

When he does that, he is mostly up to no good. She suddenly is reminded of a certain apple moment. One where he nearly hit her against the head when he tried to see how her senses were faring. Another one on the list of moments she likes to forget. Unlike his brother, Vald does not don the smirk of mischief as easy as Clay does. But when he does, Cian is extra careful.

"You really did not hear me approach?" It sounds like he is checking facts. Waiting for her confirmation of something he already knew. She nods, slowly, admitting to his suspicions. Once there was frustration from her side about losing half of the left side of her ear. Chopped off by an angry demon in a fight for survival. After that damage she was no longer able to pick up a lot of the sounds anymore. Only a small percentage of what it used to be.

At least that frustration got accepted of things she could not fix anymore. Still it vexes her she didn't hear him approach. In her mind she makes another marker on the list.

"You knew, didn't you?" She guesses when she tries to define his features to read his expression. What she mostly sees is the silver hue of his pupils lit up brighter, the only source of light underneath that curtain of dark hair if you do not count the peeks of light from the sun that filter through with the minor movements of his head.

"I did it on purpose," he admits, then studies her for a moment. "It mostly confirms what I have long suspected," he tells her. She isn't even angered when he confirms it. Perhaps more sad about the very fact. In her mind she scribbles another mark on the list, adding a solemn mark to the sideline of the imaginary scroll: marking it honesty.

Debating the list of growing points that currently work so hard against her attempt of salvaging whatever is left of her hunter skills, she exhales sharply. Then ditches the make shift list from her mind.

Cian rolls her shoulders, pressing herself more upright. "I'm not even bothered about it anymore, I'm mostly bothered by other things," she finally says, craning her head back. "Yourself?" He guesses with a certain merit in his voice. She grins faintly.

She tries to shrug, given her current position it comes out as a half baked attempt on the gesture. Instead she offers him a tired grin of reluctance.

"Ah, Ciel," he murmurs, letting his hands come down on both her shoulders as he seats himself behind her. Much taller then she is he still towers behind her. The moss green kilt he wears spilling around him in its sorry state when he settles himself down.

"Hey," her voice isn't steady when she speaks. Her voice waivers when she tries to rearrange the many thoughts that run rampage through her head. Unable to pay attention to his presence at the same time.

His voice does not waver at all. His comes out bristling with confidence, sparked with all the energy she lacks. With a sigh she envies him in silence, if only for the way he seems so alive today. Though with Vald one is never certain in which direction his mood will turn. It could remain like it is, or else it could turn ugly as quick as when the rain turns puddles into mud, hiding their unpredictable depth.

Not that she cannot handle that part of him. But still, wariness for his response is not always far away in certain moments.

So she leans into him, making herself more comfortable when he moves his arms around her to hold her in an embrace, resting his chin on her right shoulder.

"I heard an interesting story this morning," he begins, his lips curving into a slight grin that holds her gaze. She rolls her eyes at him, but he ignores her. "I was asked by a certain stealthy individual - who seemed worried why he did not spot you for the past amount of days you have been hiding here - what exactly happened to you. Though mostly if he was to blame or not," Vald's voice sounds anything but uneasy.

"Oh," is her only response. When she does not add more to feed the obvious curiosity to get her to enlighten on the details, he gives her a quant look for a moment. Cian answers with a moping glare in return: Damned Duvall!

"Last I heard," he says, stopping mid sentence for a moment, perhaps still waiting for that response from her side. When none comes he just continues, "- you got served your current state of mood and mind in a rather raw and unasked way. I was told he was going to say it anyway and that you did not like it very much," there is silence between them when he studies her.

"I presume it rather felt like it was being served on a bloody plate. Because there is nothing like fleshly killed unasked advice that gets rubbed in your face and is left to simmer and leave you rather devastating after hearing the truth served cold, doesn't it?" Vald watches her closely, his eyes scanning her. There is a hidden hint of amusement when he talks in that blunt matter- of-fact kind of voice that tells her he probably gloated a little over hearing this treat.

"Seems your source already told you everything you needed to know," she says as neutral as possible. But the fact he is here, also tells her he is here to listen to her side of the story. Perhaps partially because she worries him.

"True," he says, without further lingering on it. She grunts, a slightly guttural one of frustration. Cian dislkes the accuracy in which he shaped his visual facts.

"Freshly killed unasked advice, served on a bloody platter of truth, hmm, such a nice way of describing it. Are you here to gloat at me?" Cian tries to assess him but he merely shakes his head.

"No, not to gloat, I already did that when Duvall came to tell me," he admits. She snorts, then closes her eyes and dips her head down.

Strangely he remains silent. Instead she feels his hands go up to the back of her head. Caressing through the tangled mob of hair that seems to have tangled even more the past days. Fingers playing with silver and white lined strands that peak out to the sides of her head. A remainder of when they had to shave the sides of her head to make sure the wounds were healing . By now the sides have grown back to a certain length, but the result is a wild look of uneven strands.

"Ah, Ciel," he says again, softly this time, letting his fingers roam further through the tangle of hair to comb it out As if he knows what goes on in her head. Ever so gently he plucks leaves and branches from her messy hair. Brushing off the moss and dirt.

"Look at me?" It isn't really a question, it is more a light command. Often when used he weighs it in with a certain urgency for her to pay attention, trying to get her to see it from another angle. She opens her eyes again to catch his face from the side. Adjusting her own, leaning her shoulders back a little, then she moves her head more to the right. Almost in line with his.

He looks at her through narrowed eyelids. In return she does the same. Trying to determine what he wants. All she does is squint her eyes, finding that up close his pupils almost seem to hold a faint swirl of blue mixed in the silver. Or perhaps it is because of the light reflecting in them.

He turns from pondering to observer. Apparently the observation isn't satisfactory when he frowns deeply. She stares at him, curious though. Wondering what he does not instantly tell her. Not that he often speaks his mind so openly. Not like today at least.

Usually Vald displays himself as a tall broody figure of a man. Sometimes on the verge of giving into his more feral instincts and abilities that - she guesses - he probably likes to hide better. Especially from the way he sometimes seems so dispatched in his way of looking at things.

Only when she got to know him better over the past year and a half, it gave her a better understanding of the person lingering behind the surface of that scowl he was well known for. In the end he still left it up to her to step closer or just walk away from him, no strings attached.

Back then she decided she could handle whatever, and up to this point she did in a way. Perhaps not the way she should have, but everybody makes mistakes.

She copies his frown from earlier, takes on a calculating expression when she ponders him. Wondering how he can be so composed and in balance with himself and how she seems to be so out of tune.

Once she used to be in balance too.

Leaning against him, she feels strangely whole. Perhaps because of the promise that he has her back whenever she needs him. Her eyes trail from his face as he follows her gaze. It lingers on the visible part of the ugly torn fabric of his kilt.

"You're still wearing that withered thing?" Cian asks, picking up one of the tattered and much repaired edges of the leather kilt. "Do you want me to undo myself of it?" Vald asks, his smile now curves into a smirk, edging on more mischief. The tip of his nose brushes against her cheek. She utters a giggle for the thought, then shaking her head.

Silver eyes meet hers, one dark and one light. The knowing grin he gives her in return teasing for a brief moment. Then he turns his expression into a more serious one.

"You know, you could pull everything into perspective. See what he has to say?" The offer of suggestions for her to take into consideration ringing in his words. Things she already knew herself but felt were far more easier to push aside and ignore for now.

"I perhaps played with the thought, a little...sort of, I suppose," she admits, sounding unconvinced. Cian tries to wrap her head around the mountain of debris in her head she still has to sort through. With the amount of mess in there one could easily pave the foundation of a new continent. But with an unwilling mind that does not aligned itself with the plan to clear the area, it is a bit hard not to run around in circles. To figure it out she might need him and his dispatches way of thinking more then she likes to admit and can do on her own. If only for him to nudge her in the right direction.

"Honestly?" he asks, waiting for her to add to that to whatever she has cooped up inside for so long. He knows it when she hangs her shoulders.

"Honestly?" Cian sighs at that. "I feel like I'm drowning right now ,everything slips through my fingers and I have no way of holding on to anything at all," she holds out her hands in annoyance, fingers spread. Imaginary sand slips between her fingers. They can both see the metaphor.

"Admitting is only half the part," she hears him say. Admitting makes her feel wary. Essentially giving into a fear she has been burying in the back of her head for a long time. Vald simply nudges her jaw, then squeezing her shoulder gently.

"Do you know what I think?" he asks her. She shakes her head. "More unasked advice served on a bloody platter? Or are you going to make me hunt for fresh unwanted kill of the flock?" Her attempt to jest makes him snort in merit at least.

"No, but I do think this means you finally are where you were supposed to be. You just took an awfully long detour. I take it the headstrong ability runs in the family, because I found that trait in your father from a mile away when I saw him," he says. She feels somewhat uncomfortable with that thought. Cian shrugs, then gives him a look that tells him many things. Mostly that she probably cannot sink any deeper in her own private swamp of sorrows.

"I wonder if it was ever easy for him, to give up on me and mother the way he did? The lies they created to keep him from being outright killed?" For the first time she realises she actually tries to see it from another perspective.

"You will find a way to deal with things," Vald tells her, sizing her up for a moment. "What if I cannot deal with it?" Can asks him. He shrugs. "Then you make another move. Let it go. Worry about it later!" It all sounds so easy the way he states it.

Above them a flock of wild Hippogryph's pass over. Their colours bright yet in the colorscheme of the forest. Four of them soar together through the sky, wingspan against wingspan, leaving enough space to not collide with another. Drifting on the current of whatever draft of wind is up there. A beautiful sight against the bleu of the sky. Distracted they watch them fly off.

"Let it stir for awhile!" The suggestion not a bad one perhaps, though from the frown between her eyebrows he can tell she unsure.

"They owe you that much courtesy," he says, gesturing to the fact they owe her a decent explanation. "Why not get away from it all, just for awhile. Leave it all behind you, then come back when you think it is time to sit down to hear him out. Surely your father will understand that." To Vald it all seems so logical. She looks at him after that comment, her brain trying to put facts together. Instead she feels like she is rattling a tower of debris, ready to topple it over in her head.

"Are you proposing we take off and go on a journey?" Cian sounds surprised. He raises long winged eyebrow as he looks at her, then grins. "I might," he says.

"Where would we go?" she wonders, suddenly all exiting for the mere idea.

"How about anywhere? Azeroth has plenty of options. Many places to visit now the war is over?" The gesture of his hand indicates there is so much out there. Though his expression turns thoughtful when he looks her way. "How are Alium and Arrel handling the fact they suddenly have a grandfather that was supposed to be dead?" Vald asks. Cian shrugs.

"They seem excited, probably because this all sounds like a grand adventure. They suddenly have a secret grandfather with stories that will last them a century or more. And Sivh, Sivh has ways to make them enthusiastic in ways I could never try to get their attention," she says, the realisation that her relation with both her children has not been what it was supposed to be of late hitting hard. How things didn't turn out the way she wanted them to be.

"Then maybe tell them about our plan and see what they say?" Vald suggests. Cian nods, knowing he is probably right. Perhaps she would not even have thought about pointed it out to her children, just expected them to follow because she is their mother. His plan is better. Leaving them the choice if they wish to join or stay here with their new grandfather, who by no doubt will love to entertain the grandchildren he only saw from a distance.

"Just consider it. Though before we go back, I have another suggestion," he says suddenly, his hand rests against the lower part of her chin, distracting her when he nudges her face to gaze back to the salt water in front of them. Cian stares out over the glittering surface. It still beckons an invitation to come for a swim.

"Pretty, isn't it," he murmurs next to her ear. She smiles.

"So?" He starts in that same voice he did when he sneaked up on her earlier."So?" She responds in the same way, copying him again. Behind her he chuckles, noting her attempt to play back at him in his own manners.

"Do you care for a swim?" His hand releases her jaw, a finger pointing at the water in front of them now. "It keeps inviting us," he says with mild amusement. She nods, he felt it too. It means they are probably more aligned in ways then she imagined.

"Do I care for a swim?" Cian repeats the question, thinking. "Yes, I would," she says instantly.

"Good," she hears him say, then sees him rise to his feet. A hand is offered to her, palm up, fingers open. Cian only needs to grab it and steady herself to rise. She has grabbed his hand many times before and so far he never failed to back her up.

She takes it now. The steady grip of his fingers between hers when he pulls her up to her feet in one swift move. The gentle pressure of his palm against the inside of her hand makes her look his way, wondering, questioning. _It will all be fine!_

She smiles.

"Last one in is a Murloc!" He dares her, that gleam tells her where the mischief has gone. Next to her stands the tall man with his long loose dark hair that hangs far down his back, clad in a kilt that really has earned the right of passing over to a better world beyond. Somewhere the living can never revive it again.

"You really need a new kilt," she says, her eyes straying to his sorry outfit when she looks him over. He laughs heartily. "Are you offering to make me a new one?" He asks. She presses her lips together in a thin line, thinking about it, then nods. "I can tailor, I worked with leather before. But I will need help preparing the skins," she confesses.

"Not a problem," he says, squeezing her hand gently, then he lets go, chuckles as he looks at her with a semi wicked grin while calling her 'Murloc' under his breath.

The kilt remains in a heap in the sand beside her. Before Cian can turn her head he breaks out into a run over the beach, footprints leaving a trail in the sand as she watches him dart off into the deeper part of the water. Diving under water.

She smiles when she sees him reappear somewhere a mile from where he just dived in, waving at her in challenge, mocking her with Murloc sounds.

"**Damn druid**!" Cian calls after him, shaking her fist in response. He laughs, loudly. "Learn what I learned, then you can call me damned druid all you like!" Vald's voice echoes back at her as he wades closer to the shore. "_**Come on, Murloc**_!" He beckons her. Cian frowns, pondering the thought of what he just said.

"I might just do that!" she says, accepting his challenge. Then moves to join him in the water.

The sun slowly climbs up higher, but they do not seem to notice.

In the water two figures splash water at each other. 'Damn druid!' mixes often with laughter when she tries to keep up with him. The loud shriek that comes from her when he pulls her under the cold water is probably heard throughout most of Val'Sharah.

The mood sounds carefree and there are no dark clouds to be seen in the sky anywhere.


	11. Chapter 11

**Somewhat wholesome.**

While Cian packed her pack, Allium stood and glared down at her mother in silent anger. The small space was filled with hostility at the moment, stretching so high up that it felt like the house was too small for both of them. Following every move her mother made, Allium watched every item being folded as Cian stashed them in the backpack that was placed on the bed for their upcoming journey.

Not for her though, oh no! Allium wasn't going to come along!

Neither was Arrel.

Allium had stated very clearly she was not coming with her mother and Vald. Especially not because her daughter had very explicitly told her how she was going to stay with Sivh and hear all about the grandfather she was denied for so long by Cian!

Cian did not have the heart to remind her daughter that this same 'grandfather' was Cian's very own father that had been denied to her all her life too. To a child the vision of the world was always different then when you were an adult she figured.

So Allium was angry with her mother for multiple reasons. For that alone she chose to remain with Sivh for now. Something for which Cian was glad. She remained silent and honoured in silence what her daughter chose. If she would open her mouth now she would probably cause more trouble then she could handle. The brief moment Sivh and Cian talked, Sivh promised they would remain here, until they Cian and Vald would return. It was a promise she hugged her mother for, the gesture on its own saying there was a loving bond between mother and daughter, one where Sivh really meant to do all the best for whatever reason she chose to deal with. It still did not leave out the divided words between them were not solved yet. Sivh probably knew that as much as Cian did.

She would deal with that when she returned from their journey. Reality hit hard when Allium gave her mother a vicious glare. Reminding Cian that she had to deal with an angry daughter. And right now Allium was out of tune with her as much as Cian was out of balance with Sivh. She sighed, wondering how she ended up in the middle of the periodically silent family war that raged ever since they met up again. It never was like this when Sivh lived in Darnassus or when she was younger and they resided in Mount Hyjal. Cian shoved the why of it aside for now and glared back at Allium instead.

Exactly what Allium was angered about she had not told Cian yet, typically of her daughter, a stubborn trait she almost smiled for when she recognised the very same flaw in her own personality all too well. Not an easy thing to admit.

"Care to tell me what is wrong, daughter?" she finally said, breaking the silence. Allium remained silent. Being pissed off didn't cover Alliums stormy mood. Cian guessed Allium probably had a very long list of things she was angered about.

Cian turned, sitting with crossed legs near the bed on the floor of the small house they shared, leaning against the wooden bed on which stood the backpack. The purple draped cover that usually lay tightly over the bed was now messed up with all the items Cian still needed to sort through before she was ready for the journey ahead. The faint left over light announcing the end of the day filtered in through the round purple tinted window that was embedded in the top of the wall of their home, giving the place a somewhat majestic sphere in the same elven architecture they once used in Darnassus and Astranaar.

But that could wait for a moment. For now she watched the frantic stance her oldest daughter tried to make at her. Purple curls draped around an face that glowered at her with slanted eyes as she pulled the right corner of her lip up in a faint snarl. Cian raised one delicate winged eyebrow in response to that snarl. Watching as her daughter folded her arms in front of herself, placed one foot in front of her to balance her weight out as she tilted her head to the left to give Cian the most fierce look she could make with her young years. Cian tried to keep a neutral expression, but she had a hard time at it watching the dramatic way her oldest daughter flayed her way in a feral manner. Alliums whole pose spoke volumes.

Usually Allium resembled a smaller purple copy of Cian in her ways and gestures, though right now Cian wasn't so sure about that. Right now Allium resembled her biological father to such an extreme close detail that it was almost funny to see the girl pull off the dominant mood he used to displayed at times. From the crease between her eyebrows that made her adopt a deep frown to the scrunch of her nose and the anger lines rippling from the corners of her eyes to the bow of her nose that made her nostrils flare in anger.

Yeah, she defiantly resembled her father right now. Not something that she wished to be reminded about at the moment.

Up until a year ago she had still worn the eternium wedding band around her neck, strapped with a leather cord and tugged under her tunic. Mostly because her finger had been broken during her fall after the attack she survived in Andu'Talah. Wearing the ring did not feel right anymore. The leather cord was something Vald had given to her, telling her to keep the ring close to her heart. Advising to only let it go when she was really ready to do so. When Thiandis passed away she finally chose to take it off.

Once she wanted to return the wedding band to him, instead she chose to bury it with their deceased son. She figured it was perhaps a very human gesture to burry a personal item with their child. But she felt she wanted to leave Thiandis something that had also been his fathers. One last time, one last item.

Cian closed her eyes, pushing away more thoughts that weren't welcome at the moment. The images weren't going to change anything. And like him, she too, chose to move on. Whatever had happened between the two of them was now in the past, and they went their separate ways long ago.

When she opened her eyes again Allium still glared at her. Unmoved in her stance. Cian looked her over from head to toe, smiling about one of her two beautiful children. Something she would always cherish of their time together. The gift of the children they had together.

With that thought parked at the back of her head she inhaled deeply, readying herself to deal with her daughter's mood. She was not going to let her go in anger when Vald and she would journey to the main land of Azeroth.

Allium wasn't the only one who could make a stance. Cian could too! With a grin curving her lips up Cian suddenly lunged for her daughter.

The squeal Allium uttered when her mother caught her was shrill and high to a pitch that it even hurt Cian's left ears in the small space of their home. But that did not stop her from grabbing her daughter, wrapping her arms closely around the child and tickling the child's side. When Allium didn't budge at first she continued tickling her under her arms. There was a muffled shriek coming from Allium somewhere trying to break free from her mother's grip. Then there was a soft chuckle, followed by louder giggles that rolled into a childlike laughter and then they were suddenly laughing together.

Loud and uninhibited laughter clattered around the room. It could be heard from both mother and daughter alike, as if there never had been any angry moments under the moon between them.

When the laughter finally ebbed away, Cian just sat and held Allium, who wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and buried her face in her mother's hair as she had done so often over the years.

Cian's hand brushed through the obnoxious amount of purple curls that kept tangling themselves together. Stubborn hair seemed to run in the family. She smiled faintly, placing her hand at the back of her daughters neck while she held her close. Feeling none of the anger present from before.

The continuing smile that turned Cian's expression into a more relaxed one as she held her daughter was one of her own, a genuine light-hearted warm smile. There was no trace of Vald's stolen scowl that wanted to battle the mood and smile she held. This was nothing more than a precious moment between a mother and daughter. Anger had no a place to seep through in this guarded moment.

Right now she cherished the cuddle from her very stubborn daughter with her whole being, holding a well balanced match between him and herself in a tight embrace. Until Allium chose to let go. Silently Cian wished him all the best from the bottom of her heart when she looked up at their daughter again.

She pushed a curl behind Alliums pointed ear when she studied her daughter, offering her a questioning look. The girls expression seemed at ease, which was another worry smoothed away. The air felt filtered between.

Without a word Allium picked up an item from among the things laid out on the purple coverlet. She held up a beautifully carved bone comb, decorated with a dark blue painted pattern of engraved sea shelves in different sea green and bleus that was once made by Edra'eth's steady hand from the looks.

"Edra made that for me a long time ago, but it is yours if you want it," Cian said. Allium held it up to the dim light, examining it. Following the decorative carving with a delicate index finger, then she smiled widely and nodded.

"We will sent word to Basalt and Sivh," Cian promised her daughter solemnly. Allium pouted for a moment. "You better do so! Or I simply will ask Dusk to seek you out for me," Allium said with a stubborn sounding tone. Cian shook her head with a mild chuckle.

"Please try not to drive your grandparents to insanity. The man only just surfaced into the open again after being hidden for half a millennium or so," Cian said. The mood did not change between them when she said that, the small nod from her daughter was enough of a promise. In silence they continued packing Cian's backpack. Now she was really ready for the upcoming travel.


	12. Chapter 12

**Journey**

The water around them sloshed, then churned into circles and broke up into a splatter of drops that scattered in every directions of the wind when the nose of the ship came up again from the deep waves it pranced around on. She felt the bob of the wooden structure make ready to take on the next dip. Holding on firmly to the railing and the nearby rope that was attached to a hook in the side, Cian watched the water. It almost seemed black underneath the upper layers that were coloured in blue and a sickly green.

She could relate to the sickly green. Days ago Cian was unable to stand here like this so freely.

Days ago the last remains of whatever she had eaten had dissolved in the salty throng that looked like it was about to swallow them ship and all. Just as it did with the content of her stomach, snatched up by the water and probably eaten by its fishy inhabitants by now as it went under into the swirling foam of the waves. She didn't want to know what lived beneath its surface, and shuddered for the thought of the image in her head of fish nipping at things she recently ate.

She rolled her shoulders, trying to get rid of the feeling that caused a knot to form in the back. When the mood finally dissipated from her person she exhaled in relief. Cheerful her stomach did not forget its peaceful state. She leaned a little over the wooden railing of the ship. Studying the salt waters she was unprepared for the sudden dip of the ship's hull when it veered nose down again. She nearly lost her footing, instinctively curling her arm around the rope next to her as she splayed her other hand out on the polished dark wood of the top of the railing to steady herself as the sea threw them around on a loosely based rhythm.

The wind pulled at her hair and the splash of seawater in her face made her laugh out loud.

They left the safety of Stormwind harbour days ago. Though Cian kind of lost count of how many days exactly it had been, the first few days mostly remained a blurry mess in her memory because of how sick she had felt. She guessed by now it was perhaps almost half a week ago venturing on this adventure. It was mostly after Vald had given her that strange combination of mint mixed with different herbs to chew on that things got better and finally settled her stomach.

Now she got used to the rhythm of their seaworthy journey and she wasn't worried that she would be thrown overboard she found it easier to finally let the choice to go on a journey sink in. The water had been calm, furious and in between so far. And she actually enjoyed the challenge the sea seemed to hold. Taking in the wild beauty the salty waters offered for what it was.

Cian whipped a hand over her face and inhaled the sharp salt in the air, taking a lungful.

From the safety of the beach the salt waters always appeared so much more peaceful. There she could at least walk safely back on fast land again. Here she could not. Even though Cian had to admit to herself that steady ground under ones feet was a blessing indeed, the ship and the journey caused excitement nonetheless. Looking at the sea from this angle made the experience of travelling over water so much more fierce.

Allium and Arrel probably would loved this journey. Perhaps Thiandis would have loved it as well. Her mouth pinched in a thin line for a moment at the thought of her second son. His wild purple unruly hair would have been windswept if he were standing next to her. Wild and unruly. She smiled wryly for the image of the most silent of her children. She missed them all, but him the most. Thiandis still made her feel sad, so she closed her eyes and swallowed away the lump in her throat that always formed when she thought of him. Pretending there was no crack in her heart. It did not make the harsh truth go away. Nor did it turn back time even if she could wish for it. So she imagined he would have enjoyed it with her too, this adventure.

Another dip of the hull made her startle. Eyes wide open now. The swipe of wind curling her hair in front of her in a wispy manner. Heart beating frantically. The silver of her hair colour matched with the foaming heads of the restless waves surrounding them as it repeated its pattern, breaking and mending itself seamlessly.

Inconvenient as she first thought their seaworthy journey would be, she didn't think so now. Sure it would have been much easier if they'd just bought the services of a mage to make them a portal. Bu she could not deny the reasons both Vald and Iunan had opted held a valid point. Namely pointing out that the trouble of travelling by portal was that they had concerns about the security of a portal anchor point to Northrend now the city of Dalaran no longer lingered in the sky above of what they called the Roof of the World.

Besides that fact, Vald wasn't very eager when it came to trusting arcane magic. She never asked him why, but could not entirely disregard her own reasons against it. Especially concerning her own family heritage and the situation that caused her father to go in hiding for so long.

Still, so far Elune made it feel like she was looking out for them.

"Feeling better?" The flat hand that loosely rested between her shoulder blades didn't make her jump. She smiled instead, meeting his gaze as she nodding in answer and leaned back into Vald's solid form standing behind her. He moved his hand to rest next to hers on the wooden banister. She turned her head sideways, craning her neck back until she rested the back of her head against his chest. He no longer donned his usual druidic garb he usually did in Lorlathil. Instead he wore an outfit more suitable for travelling, better fit to meet the cold that they would encounter in Northrend. Similar to her own clothing that upgraded from plain leather outfit to a more elaborated fur lined items that kept her warm.

His lazy smile always made her raise an eyebrow, not in distress though. She learned to read him well enough over the time she knew him. This was an encouraging smile. There was a strange comfortable silence between them for a moment. It gave her time to study him up close.

"You are very much at ease at sea, aren't you?"she guessed, realising something about him. Remembering weeks earlier when he was so in his element in the water with her, shifting into his druidic sea lion shape so easily. "Druid of the Fin abilities?" She suddenly said He nodded. "It is a story on its own, but not for now," he said, his other arm steadied at her side. She agreed, not pressing on the matter as she exhaled on the breeze of the wind, tasting the tinged salt in the air when she did. It was kind of nice. Taking in their solemn moment he rested his chin on top of her head. Not entirely surprised the druid with his almost natural brooding appearance seemed very much at ease standing on a vessel in open water. With a story to his druidic abilities she guessed it was a story that he did not share easily.

"I will tell you the story sometimes," he promised her, as if he could guess her thoughts. The lopsided grin turning his features in a good way.

"Do you think Allium and Arrel are driving your parents insane?" he laughed softly when she offered him a wary smile that told him she thought they did. He moved and came to stand next to her. "It was a better choice they remained with your parents," he said, taking her left hand in his and twining his fingers with hers. She had to agree with him there.

Her parents. She still had some issues accepting her father's roll in this scenario, but perhaps where they would go she could get some grip on some of the thoughts that raised her hackles when it came to the man that sired her. Maybe she would find answers that would ease the burden a bit.

There were many things Arveim did not willingly wish to share with her just yet. When she finally had the courage to step up to him and actually ask about it, he told her he would tell her in due time and answer all her questions. Even though she wanted to be gloomy about it, he too was probably right. Things were too fresh and new to sort through right now. Letting it stew for awhile wasn't an entirely bad idea. She returned her attention back to Vald again.

"So far I'm enjoying the journey, if the weather holds. It looks like bad weather forming," she admitted, looking up at the grey sky filled with ominous clouds with a careful eye. "Afraid of a sea storm, Ciel?" he asked as he watched her take in the scenery with a curious glance. That made him grin. She shook her head. "I am glad you are enjoying the journey though. I didn't think you were, regarding your nausea," he reminded her. She chuckled. "Your foul tasting minty, slightly gritty combination of herbs that had the aftertaste of faint mud helped me very well with that problem," she smirked at him. He shook his head at her description. "I am grateful for it though," she quickly added, before he had a reason to steal his scowl back and grant her with one of his.

"I'm glad to hear that, I much more like a Cian at ease then one who retches out her guts," he admitted plainly. She pouted at him, giving him a scornful glare. He laughed out loud at her.

"What do we expect to find in Northrend?" Cian finally asked, changing the subject. Vald shrugged. "My family perhaps, among others. Iunan's cousin from what I understood. And the rest we will find out soon enough," he said. She had no answer to that comment, only a nod of her head to indicate she trusted him on his word.

Her choice to undertake the journey was not only to get away from things, it was to clear her mind as well. Change of scenery Vald had called it. It could work wonders. Making her choice of undertaking a journey with full support by Vald and eventually backed up by Iunan and Ipheion - who both had personal reasons for accompanying them. Iunan because of their destination to meet up with his cousin, Ipheion because of other reasons. If she was lucky she too would get to see Meso again in the Northern cold. It had been a long time since she saw Iunan's cousin. The only one who had not seemed very pleased to see them depart had been Duvall, who had silently witnessed the process of careful packing and planning with a mocking retort.

She stopped asking him if he wanted to come along.

Then there was Sivh, her mother, who was in doubt about the reasons why Cian wanted to take off instead of taking the time to get to know her father better. Scrutinizing her with a fan of guilt for leaving her children alone again, Cian's answer to Sivh wasn't kind. Luckily Allium and Arrel distracted their grandmother from further arguing when the moment was about to explode in Cian's face once more.

But it wasn't like that, well not on behalf of the children's choice to leave them back in Lorlathil. Maybe the other half of the reason was exactly what her mother said. But the choice to travel for awhile was made and Cian was not about to let the guilt trip her in a tangled web of remorse over a choice made that she knew she needed more then she wanted to admit. In the end, or so she hoped, it would give her some time to figure out what she wanted. It offered Allium and Arrel to learn more about Arveim without her presence, which - she figured- would benefit them more then with a constant angered Cian at their side.

Besides, the Broken Isles provided a safer place for them to remain with Sivh, Arveim and Basalt then where they were going. She was not sure in what state Northrend was after the Scourge roamed a great part of the lands. She hoped the rumours she heard in Stormwind were true though, that the lands were no longer infested by undead and other gruesome abominations.

Cian rather liked that Iunan and Ipheion were both part of their journey for awhile, before they would part ways. Unless both of them decided to stick around for the duration of the whole trip. Her old hunter trainer had always been both mentor and friend to her. Surprisingly, Vald wasn't jealous of that fact. Not what she expected, knowing him a bit.

The obnoxious druid actually showed a certain amount of healthy respect for the hunter. More so then for Basalt, her brother. Basalt and Vald often clashed in a verbal spar that ended in a snarling contest. Much to her dismay. Same with Vald and Allium, though in a more acceptable and childlike manner.

He always said he thought Allium needed to rage a bit against him. Cian had a good idea why Allium did it, guessing Vald had the same thoughts. Vald mostly played along with all the tantrum Allium threw his way, shrugging off any of the insults and disrespect he got from her for Cian's sake to keep it light. Bantering a little with the girl in return to ruffle her feathers. When he finally got Allium to understand he wasn't there to take her father's place and that she could in no way rattle his irk about that fact, things settled for them.

In the end they even found a way to 'tolerate' each other in a mutual agreement. It was important for Allium to set her boundaries and to know that nobody expected her to forsake her parental heritage to her father. Thought that - Cian figured- would take time to refine into an acceptance that was now still rough around the edges. A thing Cian knew herself a thing or two about.

The choice to let Arrel resume his druid lessons and for Allium to train with Basalt were well weighed decisions they spoke about with the children before taking up on their trek to Stormwind.

For now she focussed on the journey ahead. Feeling Vald squeeze her hand gently as he gave her an amusing smile, it made her feel more at ease to know he was there with her.

The caw of a large raven pulled her attention back to the current moment, glancing to the other side of the ship. Mac, the raven, sat on a water barrel that was secured with ropes. The large bird peered her way with round dark gleaming eyes. From afar the raven looked normal in size, up close he was massive. With a wingspan that easily covered Cian in height. Almost as large as one of those owls one could find around the Broken Isles. Close by stood Iunan, talking to a few of the crew. When he turned he waved at them.

Then he resumed his chat with one of the human sailors in particular. The man didn't seem very pleased with the kaldorei hunter addressing him. From the agitated way Iunan spoke to the man and raked his hand through his hair she could tell Iunan wasn't very happy himself. The little she caught of the conversation was about Iunan scrutinizing the man for bestowing too much attention to Ipheion instead of doing his actual job.

She shook her head, wondering if the Captain of the ship would later return the favour and tell Iunan off for interfering with his crew's daily tasks. Cian wasn't really surprised to find half the male crew ogled the high elf when she walked by. Ipheion was a rather beautiful woman and Cian could imagine it might throw the crew's focus off from their more important tasks if they took the time for more leisure moments, such as watching a pretty woman instead of making sure the ship kept its steady course.

Ipheion probably was perfectly capable of fending off the sailors herself, since the woman had a way with words. An attitude Cian only learned to developed over the years and which did not come as natural to her as it did to Ipheion. Iunan however was a man of principle and took it upon himself to make sure to remind them that his student was off limits. Cian smiled to herself. He used to do that for her too when she was younger. Defend her. With Vald around he did not have to worry about her.

Iunan definitely inherited the same righteous feeling of protecting others like the man who fathered him. She chuckled, if he would hear her thoughts right now he would surely scold her for it.

Around them the wind shifted, picking up in motion. Above them more dark clouds gathered, packing together in a threatening array of grey tones that ranged from light to very dark. Vald nudged her shoulder with his own. Pointing up with his free hand towards the sky. She followed the movement of his hand.

"You might be right after all," she heard him say, "It feels like a large storm is brewing," he said solemnly. The tone in his voice wasn't very reassuring. His eyes focussed on the looming skyline ahead of them. The curve of his mouth pressed into a thin line after that remark.

Cian nodded, not entirely able to quell the feeling of uneasiness that his comment gave her.


End file.
